Phoenix Wright: The Good Old Days
by Vimtrust5
Summary: After Iris is freed from prison, Phoenix tells her (and Apollo and Trucy in some chapters) all his past cases in great detail. Feenris in the present day, obviously. Post-Apollo Justice and pre-Dual Destinies.
1. The First Turnabout

Phoenix Wright: The Good Old Days

After her prison sentence is over, Iris asks Phoenix about all his old cases, starting from his very first day in court as a defense attorney.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own _Ace Attorney_. It is owned by Capcom.

* * *

Chapter 1: The First Turnabout

November 14, 11:04 AM

Outside the Detention Center

Phoenix couldn't believe it. Not only has his good name been cleared of all suspicions of forgery, but his beloved Iris has just been released from prison! Iris, the woman who impersonated her evil twin sister, **Dahlia Hawthorne** , to keep him safe from harm; the same woman who stated that she would do anything to protect him, even if it meant risking her own life or her sister's.

"Feenie!" said Iris as she ran over to Phoenix and embraced him.

"Iris!" Phoenix shouted as he returned the hug.

"Oh, Feenie. I heard everything! You've gotten Kristoph Gavin convicted, and your innocence from that incident seven years ago has been proven! I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Iris. This really means a lot to me. Especially now that you're free at last."

The two looked into each other's eyes and saw the same people they saw in each other when they were younger.

WIthin minutes, Phoenix and Iris's lips met in a tender, yet passionate kiss; it had been 13 years since they had felt this warmth flow from their bodies. As they kissed, they caressed each other, not even bothering to mind their surroundings.

"Um, excuse us?" said a young voice.

Phoenix and Iris broke the kiss and met a young girl of 15 with a young 22-year-old man dressed in a red suit, smirking. The most distinguishing characteristics of these two were that the teenageer was dressed up as a magician, complete with a silk hat, and the man had some of his hair gelled up to look like antennas.

"Oh, hey there, Apollo, Trucy," said Phoenix.

"Hey, Mr. Wright," said Apollo. "Who's this lovely lady?" he asked, causing the ex-convict to blush.

"Apollo, Trucy, this is Iris Hawthorne-"

"Fey," Iris interrupted. "Please, Feenie, my last name is Fey."

"Oh, s-sorry, Iris."

"It's okay, Feenie. I-I just don't want to think about that time again."

Their conversation was disrupted by Apollo snickering to himself, most likely at the woman's pet name for Mr. Wright.

"S-Sorry, Mr. Wright," Apollo said. "It's just that-"

"Apollo!" Trucy yelled. "It's rude to laugh when other people are talking! Anyway, uh, Ms. Fey, I'm Trucy Wright, adopted daughter of Phoenix Wright, and this is Apollo Justice, attorney at law."

"A-A-Adopted daughter?" asked Iris.

"Let me explain." said Phoenix as they proceeded to the Wright Anything Agency, telling Iris the story of Trucy and the circumstances that made it possilble.

"I-I see," said Iris, looking down at the ground as they walked. "Poor girl."

"Iris," said Phoenix. "Do you want to hear the story about my time as a defense attorney, up until that fateful trial seven years ago?"

"Of course, Feenie."

"Well, let's wait until we get back to the agency."

* * *

November 14

Wright Anything Agency

The Wright Anything Agency, formerly known as the Wright & Co. Law Offices, was just the way Phoenix, Apollo, and Trucy left it, decorated with an assortment of magic props, a portrait of Trucy's biological father, Shadi Enigmar (Zak Gramarye), and Charley, the beloved plant left behind as a memento from Phoenix's late, great mentor, Mia Fey.

"Ah, home sweet home!" said Trucy.

"Never thought I'd be happy to be here," said Apollo

"Um, Feenie?" asked Iris. "What is this place?"

"The Wright Anything Agency, of course," Phoenix replied. "Or as it used to be, the Wright & Co. Law Offices."

"Or the Fey & Co. Law Offices," said Iris, giggling.

"Now would be a good time to tell you all everything about my days as a lawyer."

* * *

Ten years ago

August 3, 9:47 AM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 2

 _Boy, am I nervous!_ I thought as I sat there, waiting for court to begin.

"Wright!" said a familiar voice. It was my boss, Mia Fey.

"Oh, h-hiya, Chief."

"Whew, I'm glad I made it on time."

"Well, I have to say, Phoenix, I'm impressed! Not everyone takes a murder trial right off the bat like this. It says a lot about you and your client as well."

"Um, thanks. Actually it's because I owe him a favor."

"A favor?" Mia asked me, surprised. "You mean you knew the defendant before this case?"

"Yes. Actually I kind of owe my current job to him. He's one of the reasons I became an attorney."

"Well, that's news to me!"

"I want to help him out any way I can! I just... really want to help him. I owe him that much."

As soon as I was about to say some more about my client...

"IT'S OVER! MY LIFE, EVERYTHING, IT'S ALL OVER!"

Mia stood in silence for a brief moment before speaking again. "Isn't that your client screaming over there?" she asked pointing to the young man throwing a fit.

"Yeah, that's him." I replied, much to my discomfort.

"DEATH! DESPAIR! OHHHH! I'M GONNA DO IT! I'M GONNA DIE!"

"It sounds like he wants to die."

"Um, yeah." I sighed.

Then came my client for the day, Larry Butz.

* * *

"Larry Butz?" asked Iris. "Oh, you mean Mr. Laurice. Laurice Deauxnim."

"One and the same, Iris," said Phoenix.

"Who?" said Apollo and Trucy.

"He was one of my childhood friends." _Though after finding out what really happened, I wouldn't exactly call him a close friend._

* * *

"Nick!" said my old friend, Larry, tears pouring out of his eyes. A lot of them.

"Hey. Hey there, Larry." I said trying to comfort him over the loss of his girlfriend, the victim in this case.

"Dude, I'm so guilty! Tell them I'm guilty!" said an overexcited Larry, much to my shock. "GIMME THE DEATH SENTENCE! I AIN'T AFRAID TO DIE!"

"What!? What's wrong, Larry?"

"Oh, it's all over... I... I'm finished. Finished!" said Larry, going back into crybaby mode. "I can't live in a world without her! I can't! Who... who took away from me, Nick? Who did this!? Aww, Nick, ya gotta tell me! Who took my baby away!?" he shouted shaking me with emphasis on the last sentence.

 _Hmm... The person responsible for your girlfriend's death? The newspapers say it was you._

* * *

"So let me clarify this," said Apollo. "Your first case involved a young woman who was murdered in her apartment, and the suspect was your old friend who happened to be dating her?"

"That's right, Apollo," said Phoenix. "Larry Butz. My old friend was surrounded by an all-familiar saying: ' **When something smells, it's usually the Butz.** ' In the many years I've known him, that saying has usually proven to be true."

"Wow," said Trucy, "he must have been just born unlucky, huh, Daddy?"

"You could say that," said Phoenix. _That, and the fact that he's an idiot._ "But I knew better than anyone that Larry was a good guy at heart. Not to mention that I owed him big time which is why I took the case, to clear his name."

* * *

August 3, 10:00 AM

District Court

Courtroom No. 2

My first time in court as a lawyer. I was really, really nervous. The chitter-chatter of the audience didn't help a bit, not even when the judge calmed them down with a whack of his gavel.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Larry Butz," said the judge.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," said Winston Payne, the prosecutor whose name I couldn't remember back then.

"The, uh, defense is ready, Your Honor," said I.

The judge cleared his throat and addressed me. "Mr. Wright? This is your first trial, is it not?"

"Y-yes, Your Honor. I'm, um, a little nervous."

"Your conduct during this trial will decide the fate of your client. Murder is a serious charge. For your client's sake, I hope you can control your nerves."

"Thank... thank you, Your Honor," I said, nodding. The judge was still looking at me with a stern look on his face.

"Mr. Wright, given the circumstances... I think we should have a test to ascertain your readiness."

"Yes, Your Honor." I said. Just then, I was starting to sweat bullets, which would later become commonplace in my career. _Gulp... Hands shaking... Eyesight... fading..._

* * *

"You, too, Mr. Wright?" asked Apollo. "You were sweating buckets often?"

"Just like you, Apollo." said Phoenix, smirking at the young lawyer. _Only a little less often than you are now._

"Now, Mr. Justice, don't interrupt Phoenix next time, okay?" said Iris.

"S-s-s-sorry, Ms. Fey." said Apollo.

* * *

"This test will consist of a few simple questions," said the judge. "Answer them clearly and concisely. Please state the name of the defendant in this case."

"The defendant?" I said. "Well, that's Larry Butz, Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "Correct. Just keep your wits about you, and you'll do fine. Next question: This is a murder trial. Tell me, what's the victim's name?"

 _Whew, I know this one!_ I thought. _Glad I read the case report cover to cover so many times. It's... wait... Uh-oh!_

As soon as I realized I couldn't remember the name of the murder victim, I flinched.

"Phoenix! Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE you're up for this?!" Mia scolded me. "You don't even KNOW THE VICTIM'S NAME!?"

"Oh, the victim! O-Of course I know the victim's name! I, um, just forgot. Temporarily."

"I think I feel a migraine coming on."

"S-Sorry, Chief..."

"Look, the victim's name is listed in the **Court Record**. Remember to look at the Court Record often. Do it for me, please. I'm begging you."

The judge cleared his throat again to catch my attention; he was clearly getting impatient with me as Mia was. "Let's have your answer. Who is the victim in this case?" I looked at the Court Record and found the victim's profile.

"Um... the victim's name is Cindy Stone." I responded.

"Correct. Now, tell me, what was the cause of death? She died because she was...?"

I checked the Court Record again to take a look at her autopsy report and found that she died due to blunt trauma from the head.

"According to her autopsy, she was struck once... by a blunt object."

"Correct. You've answered all of my questions. I see no reason why we shouldn't proceed. You seem much more relaxed, Mr. Wright. Good for you."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Except I didn't _feel_ relaxed at the time.

"Well, then... First, a question for the prosecution. Mr. Payne?"

"Yes, Your Honor?" said the prosecutor.

"As Mr. Wright just told us, the victim was struck with a blunt object. Would you explain to the court just what that 'object' was?"

"The murder weapon was this statue of _The Thinker_. It was found lying on the floor next to the victim."

"I see. The court accepts this into evidence."

"Wright," said Mia. "Be sure to pay attention to any evidence added during the trial. That evidence is the only ammunition you have in court. Please check the Court Record frequently."

The judge banged his gavel again and asked the prosecution to call their first witness.

"The prosecution calls the defendant, Mr. Butz, to the stand."

"Uh, Chief? What do I do now?"

"Pay attention. You don't want to miss any information that might help your client's case. You'll get your chance to respond to the prosecution later, so be ready! Let's just hope he doesn't say anything... unfortunate."

 _Uh-oh, Larry gets excited easily... this could be bad,_ I thought.

* * *

"The first witness called on the stand with you as a lawyer was your own client?" said Trucy.

"Yeah," said Phoenix. "But he wasn't the first witness I cross-examined; the guy who I did question came after Larry."

"Hmm, I see," said Iris. "So what did Mr. Laur... I mean, uh, Mr. Larry say?"

"You really want to know?

"Yes."

"Okay, here goes..."

* * *

Larry took the stand, sporting a somewhat cocky smirk on his face, despite the position he was in. Prosecutor Payne cleared his throat.

"Mr. Butz, is it true that the victim had recently dumped you?" he asked my client.

"Hey, watch it, buddy!" my livid client shouted. "We were great together! Like Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra and Marc Anthony!"

I cringed. _Um... didn't they all die?_

"I wasn't dumped! She just wasn't taking my phone calls. Or seeing me... Ever. WHAT'S IT TO YOU ANYWAY!?" he shouted, but Payne was unfazed.

"Mr. Butz, what you've described is generally what we mean by 'dumped.' In fact, she had completely abandoned you... and was seeing other men! She had just returned with one of them the day before the murder!"

"Whaddya mean, 'one of them'!? Lies! All of it, lies! I don't believe a word of it!"

"Your Honor, the victim's passport. According to this, she was in Paris until the day before she died."

After accepting the victim's passport into the record, the judge remarked, "Hmm... Indeed, she appeared to have returned the day before the murder."

"Dude... no way..." said Larry.

"The victim was a model," said Payne, "but did not have a large income. It appears that she had several 'sugar daddies.'"

"Sugar... daddies...?"

"Yes, older men who gave her money and gifts. She took their money and used it to support her lifestyle."

"Duuude!"

"We can clearly see what kind of woman this Ms. Stone was," remarked the prosecutor, who was now smirking to himself. "Tell me, Mr. Butz, **what do you think of her now?** "

"Wright..." Mia said to me. "I don't think you want him to answer that question."

Yeah, Larry did have a way of running his mouth in all the wrong directions. So I decided to stop him from answering. I slammed my desk and said, "My client had no idea the victim was seeing other men! That question is irrelevant to this case!" The prosecutor winced in pain, but Larry being Larry answered anyway.

"Nick, dude! Whaddya mean, 'irrelevant!?' That cheatin' she-dog! I'm gonna die! I'm just gonna drop DEAD!" he yelled, but he didn't stop there. In fact, it got worse. For him, and for me. "Yeah, and when I meet her in the afterlife, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!"

* * *

Iris said nothing; neither did Apollo or Trucy.

"That's what I thought at the time," said Phoenix. "The whole audience just stood there in silence, like you are right now."

"Y-You know, Phoenix," said Iris, "I've seen him testify in court, but I can't believe he almost... you know..."

"Yeah, I know."

"This Larry guy sounds a bit like Wocky," Apollo whispered to Trucy who nodded in agreement.

"Um, Ms. Fey?" asked Trucy.

"Yes, Trucy?" said Iris.

"What did you mean by seeing Mr. Butz testify in court?"

"That's for a later time, Trucy. We'll tell you later."

"Okay."

"Anyway let's get back to the past." said Phoenix.

* * *

The prosecution had provided a motive for my client, and, once again, I was sweating profusely.

"Next question!" said Payne. "You went to the victim's apartment on the day of the murder, did you not?" Larry gulped and with good reason. "Well, did you or did you not?"

"Heh heh..." Larry chuckled nervously. "Well, maybe I did, and maybe I didn't!"

 _Uh-oh. He went. What do I do?_ I thought. My first instinct was to stop him from answering, but this time, I decided to let him answer the question, and let him do it honestly by sending him a signal: slam the bench (TELL), rub my chin (THE), and pointed my index finger (TRUTH).

"Er... Yeah! Yeah! I was there! I went!"

The gallery was talking amongst themselves again; one pounding of the gavel silenced them.

"Order!" yelled the judge. "Well, Mr. Butz?"

"Dude, chill! She wasn't home, man... So, like, I didn't see her."

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " screeched Prosecutor Payne. "Your Honor, the defendant is lying."

"Lying?" asked His Honor.

"The prosecution would like to call a **witness** who can prove Mr. Butz is lying."

"Well, that simplifies matters. Who is your witness?"

"The man who found the victim's body. Just before making the brutal discovery, HE SAW THE DEFENDANT FLEE THE SCENE OF THE CRIME!" he screeched even more as he pointed at the unlucky defendant, causing the audience to talk loudly again. This time, the judge had to pound his gavel three times to keep them quiet.

"Order! Order in the court!" he shouted. "Mr. Payne, the prosecution may calls its witness."

"Yes, Your Honor."

 _This is bad,_ I thought. Not only did Larry make an idiot of himself earlier, but now there was a witness who was going to testify against him!

"On the day of the murder, my witness was selling newspapers at the victim's building," said Payne. "Please bring Mr. Frank Sahwit to the stand!"

Approaching the witness stand was a particularly shady looking man all dressed in purple. His eyes were almost always shut, his body moved in a strange way, and he had a mole on his forehead.

"Mr. Sahwit," said Payne, "you sell newspaper subscriptions. Is this correct?"

"Oh, oh yes!" said Mr. Sahwit in a weird tone of speech. "Newspapers, yes!"

"Mr. Sahwit," said the judge, "you may proceed with your testimony. Please tell the court what you saw on the day of the murder."

"I was going door-to-door, selling subscriptions when I saw a man fleeing an apartment. I thought he must be in a hurry because he left the door half-open behind him. Thinking it strange, I looked inside the apartment. Then I saw her lying there... A woman... not moving... dead! I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside. I thought to call the police immediately! However, the phone in her apartment wasn't working. I went to a nearby park and found a public phone. I remeber the time exactly: it was 1:00 PM. The man who ran was, without a doubt, the defendant sitting right over there."

The judge sat in his chair, pondering. I was standing there, extemely nervous, thinking I couldn't defend Larry against a testimony like that. Boy, was I wrong.

"Incidentally, why wasn't the phone in the victim's apartment working?" asked the judge.

"Your Honor, at the time of the murder, there was a blackout in the building," the prosecutor answered.

"Aren't phones supposed to work during a blackout?"

"Yes, Your Honor. However, some cordless phones do not function normally. The phone Mr. Sahwit used was one of those. Your Honor, I have a record of the blackout for your perusal." Payne said as he handed the paper to the bailiff.

"Now, Mr. Wright," said the judge.

"Yes!" I shouted before regaining my composure. "Er... yes, Your Honor?"

"You may begin your **cross-examination**."

"C-cross-examination, Your Honor?"

"Alright, Wright, this is it. The real deal!" said Mia who meant all-business that day.

"Uh... what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Why, you expose the **lies** in the testimony the witness just gave!"

"Lies?! What?! He was lying!?"

"Your client is innnocent, right? Then that witness must have lied in his testimony! Or is your client really... guilty?"

I flinched. Again. "How do I prove he's _not_?"

"You hold the key! It's in the **evidence**! Compare the witness's testimony to the evidence at hand. There's bound to be a **contradiction** in there! First, find contradictions between the **Court Record** and the witness's testimony. Then, once you've found the contradiction **evidence** , **PRESENT** IT AND RUB IT IN THE WITNESS'S FACE!"

"Um... okay," I said, getting the general idea of what to do.

"Look at the **Court Record** and point out **contradictions** in the testimony!"

It was then I began my first cross-examination, and, man, did it feel good!

" _I remember the time exactly: it was 1:00 PM._ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ " I shouted. "1:00 PM? Are you sure?"

"Yes, for certain."

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ Let me ask again: you found the body at 1:00 PM. Are you certain?"

"Yes, it was 1:00 PM. For certain."

"Frankly, I find that hard to believe! Your testimony just now contradicts this autopsy report. It estimates the time of death between 4 and 5 PM. There was nobody to, er, no 'body' to find at 1:00. How do you explain this 3-hour gap?"

"...!" Mr. Sahwit was starting to sweat. As he stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, Payne gave yet another shrill objection.

"This is trivial," he said. "The witness merely forgot the time!"

The judge, however, did not see it that way. "After hearing this testimony, I find that hard to believe. Mr. Sahwit, why were you so certain you found the body at 1:00 PM?"

The aforementioned witness could only stutter, as he attempted to think up an "explanation" for the 3-hour contradiction.

* * *

"Wow, Feenie," said Iris. "Your first cross-examination and the very first contradiction exposed. How did it feel?"

"Same thing here!" Trucy chimed in.

"Likewise," said Apollo.

"I felt like I was on top of the world," Phoenix responded. "Exposing a witness's lies to find the truth made me felt alive for the first time since my college days." _Except for the time I was framed for murder, of course._

Iris blushed and giggled. "I'm sure you did very well, Feenie, and I'm sure Mia was proud, too."

"Exactly," said Phoenix. "In fact, she praised me openly that day and said that's all I had to do: point of out inconsistencies. I'll never forget her words: 'Lies always beget more lies! See through one, and their whole stories fall apart!'"

"That's so cool, Daddy!" Trucy replied. "Hopefully, Apollo will be as good as you."

"HEY!" Apollo shouted, his Chords of Steel intact.

"Not so loud, Apollo."

"S-S-S-Sorry..."

Iris could only laugh to herself as this little exchange occurred.

"Anyway, Phoenix. You continued to question Mr. Sahwit, did you not?"

"Indeed, I did, Iris. Indeed, I did."

* * *

The purple-clad witness finally found something to say and testified once more. "You see, when I found the body, I heard the time. There was a voice saying the time; it was probably coming from the television. Oh, but it was three hours off, wasn't it? I guess the victim must have been watching a videotaped program! That's why I thought it was 1 PM! Terribly sorry about the misunderstanding..."

I began my cross-examination once more and found the next obvious lie.

" _There was a voice saying the time; it was probably coming from the television._ "

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " I shouted once more. "Hold it right there! The prosecution has stated that there was a blackout at the time of the discovery. This record proves it!" I said, tapping the blackout record with my hand.

The witness could only squeak.

"You couldn't have heard a television or a video!"

"Gah!" Mr. Sahwit was really backed into a corner.

"The defense has a point," said the judge. "Do you have an explanation for this, Mr. Sahwit?"

"No, I... I find it quite puzzling myself! Quite!" After some stalling, Sahwit "remembered" something else, but before he could testify any further, the judge gave him a warning.

"Mr. Sahwit? This court would prefer to hear a more accurate testimony from the beginning. These constant corrections are harming your credibility. That, and you seem rather... distraught." The judge seemed to have struck something as the witness flinched, his hair jumping off his head, telling me that he was definitely wearing a toupee.

The witness apologized, claiming it was a "shock" from discovering Ms. Stone's corpse. He then gave one last testimony.

"Actually, I didn't hear the time. I saw it! There was a table clock in the apartment, wasn't there? Yeah, the murder weapon! The killer used it to hit the victim! That must've been what I saw."

 _A table clock?_ I thought. _That wasn't in the report!_ I went ahead and cross-examined him for the last time.

" _There was a table clock in the apartment, wasn't there?_ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ " I shouted. "A 'table clock?' Was there a clock at the scene?"

"This is the first I've heard of it," said the judge.

" _Yeah, the murder weapon! The killer used it to hit the victim!_ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ " said I. "The murder weapon?"

"Yes, the table clock that was used as a weapon! That's what I just said. Did you doze off in the middle of my testimony or something?"

 _Something's fishy here..._

" _That must have been what I saw._ "

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " I yelled once again. "Wait just a moment! The murder weapon wasn't a clock! It was this statue! How is this supposed to be a clock?!"

"Whaa!?" The slimeball was getting angry, shaking his fist. "Y-you and your 'objections,' and your 'evidence'... Just who do you think you are?!"

"Answer the question, Mr. Sahwit."

"Hey, I saw it there, okay!? That's a clock!"

"Y-Your Honor? I-if I may...?" said the prosecutor, hunched over his desk, sweating bullets.

"Yes, Mr. Payne?"

"As the witness stated, this statue is indeed a clock. The neck is a switch; you just tilt it and it says the time out loud. As it doesn't look like a clock, I submitted it as a statue. My apologies."

* * *

"A clock, in the shape of _The Thinker_?" asked Apollo.

"Yeah..." Phoenix grew silent.

"Phoenix?" said a worried Iris.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked an equally concerned Trucy.

"I'll... tell you later."

* * *

"I see," said the judge. "So the murder weapon was a clock after all. Well, Mr. Wright? It appears that witness's testimony was correct. This is a clock. Do you have any problems with his testimony now?"

I was at a loss for words, ready to accept that fact, but something was amiss.

"Your Honor," I answered, "there is a gaping hole in the witness's testimony. The only way he could have known the weapon was a clock is to hold it in his hand. Yet the witness testified that he never entered the apartment!" I slammed my palms on the bench to make my point. "Clearly, a contradiction!"

"Hmm, indeed!"

At that moment, I had made my first accusation against a witness. Mr. Sahwit knew that _The Thinker_ was a clock because was inside Cindy Stone's apartment!

"You're lying!" I yelled, pointing at the slimeball. "You were inside the apartment the day of the murder!"

"Oh yeah?! Prove it! Prove I went in there!" said Sahwit.

"I'll do better than that! I can prove that you were the one who killed her! You struck her with the clock, and the shock of the blow triggered said clock's voice! That was the sound you heard!"

Before I could go on, the gallery was speaking loudly again, only to be silenced by the judge's gavel.

"Order in the court!" said the judge. "Intriguing. Please continue, Mr. Wright."

"Yes, Your Honor." I turned my attention to the nervous killer. "Mr. Sahwit, the sound must have left quite an impression on you. Understandable, since the murder weapon spoke just as you hit the victim! That voice was burned into your mind. That's why you were so certain about the time!"

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " screeched Payne. "W-W-What's the meaning of this? This is all baseless conjecture!"

"Baseless? Just look at the witness's face!" Indeed, Mr. Sahwit was looking pretty guilty.

"Would the witness care to elaborate?" asked the stern judge. "Did you strike the victim with the clock?"

The murderer was at a total loss for words, stuttering. "I... I...! That... that day.. I... I never!" Just as soon as he reached his breaking point, Mr. Sahwit snapped, grabbing his hairpiece and throwing it right in my face!

* * *

"Oh, my goodness!" said Iris. "That must have felt disgusting."

"Indeed it was, Iris," said Phoenix. "Indeed it was. And needless to say, I was not amused."

* * *

Frank Sahwit, panting and sweating, was absolutely angry with me. Despite my turning everything against him, he still insisted that Larry was the killer, and that he should be executed. Again, the audience was loudly speaking, most likely jeering the witness. The judge had to keep them quiet again, slamming his gavel and calling for order.

"Your Honor, a-a moment please!" said the prosecutor, hunched over and sweating again. "There isn't a shred of evidence supporting the defense's claims!" He was losing the case and he knew it.

"Mr. Wright!" the judge shouted.

"Your Honor?" I said, keeping calm.

"You claim the sound the witness heard came from the clock. Have you any evidence?"

 _The whole case is riding on this! I'd better think through it carefully!_ I thought.

"Yes, Your Honor. The sound Mr. Sahwit heard was definitely this clock. A fact which is clear if you simply try sounding the clock. Your Honor, may I have the clock?"

The judge agreed and let the bailiff hand me the murder weapon.

"I ask the court to listen very carefully..." I said as I tilted the clock's neck.

 _I think it's 8:25._

"That certainly is a strange way to announce the time."

"Well, he is _The Thinker_ , after all."

"So, we've heard the clock. What are your conclusions, Mr. Wright?"

"Mr. Payne," I said, "can you tell me what time is now?"

"It's 11:25... Ack!" he yelled, his mouth wide open and holding his arm back.

"As you can see, this clock is exactly three hours slow! Precisely the discrepancy between what Mr. Sahwit heard and the actual time of death! So, Mr. Sahwit... Try to talk your way out of this one!"

Unfortunately, he found a way and laughed at me, saying I forgot something.

"While it may seem like that clock IS running three hours slow," he said. "It proves nothing! How do you know it was running three hours slow on **the day of the murder**?! If you can't prove that, you don't have a case!"

I couldn't argue against that, and so, I went back to being "Mr. Sweaty Novice Lawyer" again.

"Mr. Wright," said the judge. "It seems you lack the critical evidence to support your claim."

I cringed. "Yes, Your Honor..."

"This means I cannot allow you to indict the witness. Unfortunately..." The judge banged his gavel, bringing the cross-examination to an end. Mr. Sahwit was ranting at me, saying he came to testify and how I treated him like a criminal (which he was), and went as far as to call us defense lawyers slime.

* * *

"Ugh..." said Apollo. "I can't believe what that guy just said to you, even though he was the slimeball."

"Yeah!" Trucy agreed.

"But you still won the case, right?" said Iris. "How did you turn the situation around?"

"Heh..." Phoenix chuckled. "That was thanks to Mia."

* * *

"Not so fast, Mr. Sahwit!" Mia shouted in full-force, surpising the witness, prosecutor, judge, and myself.

"Mia! I mean, Chief!" I said.

"Listen up, Wright! Don't throw this one away, not like this! Think!"

"But, Chief, it's over. I can't prove the clock was slow on the day of the murder! Nobody can prove that!"

"Well, uh... yes. But that doesn't mean you can't still win. Try thinking out of the box!"

"Thinking out of the box" was her way of saying "look at this from another angle." She told me that said for me not to look for proof that the clock was slow on the day of Ms. Stone's death, but rahter the reason "why" the clock was slow.

"Figure out the reason, and you'll have your proof! Right, Wright? Can you think of a reason as to why the clock was three hours slow?"

I thought over everything I've learned from the trial and found my answer. "Wait! Maybe I can prove it!"

"You must have evidence somewhere that can prove it, Phoenix! Find it and let them have it!"

"Well, Mr. Wright?" asked the judge. "You say the clock was already running slow on the day of the murder. Have you found evidence to support your claim?"

"Of course," I said. "There is something in the Court Record that can prove my claim beyond a doubt!"

"Hah, tough words!" said Mr. Sahwit. "Let's see you pull this one off!"

 _Gladly._

"Let's see this evidence that proves why the clock was running slow!"

" _ **TAKE THAT!**_ " I shouted, presenting the victim's passport. "The victim had just returned home from abroad the day before her murder. As we all know, the time difference between here and Paris is nine hours! When it's 4:00 PM here, it 1:00 AM the next day there. The clock wasn't three hours slow, it was **nine hours fast**! The victim hadn't reset her clock since returning home! That's why the time you heard when you struck her dead in her apartment was wrong!" I slammed my desk once more for emphasis. "Proof enough for you, Mr. Sahwit? Or should I say... Mr. Did It!"

After I finished, the bald-headed man in purple was hyperventilating to the point where he frothed at the mouth and collapsed; it was over for him. I had exposed him as the real murderer, clearing my friend's name in the process.

"Well..." said the judge. "This case has certainly turned out differently than expected. Mr. Payne, your witness?"

"He... uh... he was arrested and taken away, Your Honor." said Mr. Payne.

"Very well. Mr. Wright?"

"Yes, Your Honor." I said.

"I have to say, I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever seen anyone complete a defense so quickly and find the true culprit at the same time!"

"Thank you, Your Honor."

The judge then proceeded to hand down his verdict. "This court finds the defendant, Mr. Larry Butz... not guilty."

The whole audience cheered, going as far as to throw confetti.

"And with that.. this court is adjourned."

* * *

"That was great, Daddy!" Trucy said cheerfully. "A not guilty verdict in just one day, and you didn't take a recess!"

"Not like the ones we have to take so frequently," said Apollo.

"You did very well, Feenie, despite the circumstances," said Iris, kissing "Feenie" on the cheek.

"Yeah, that was the first of many times I've turned seemingly impossible cases around in my favor," said Phoenix. "But that was nothing compared to the other trials I endured."

"Say, Phoenix?"

"Yeah?"

"Why was that man in the apartment that day? Wasn't he supposed to be a salesman?"

"Well, Iris, it turned out that Frank Sahwit was just a common burglar! He posed as a newspaper salesman to check and see when people were out of their houses!"

"A burglar?"

"So he was just a small-time crook all along, huh?" asked Apollo.

"Yeah." said Phoenix. "That day, the day of Cindy Stone's death...

"When Larry went to her apartment, the victim wasn't home. After he left, Mr. Sahwit let himself in to do his dirty work! While he was searching her place, the victim returned! Flustered, the burglar grabbed the nearest blunt object he could find..."

"And that's how Ms. Stone lost her life?"

"Yes, that's right."

* * *

August 3, 2:32 PM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 2

I was so relieved with the results of the trial.

"Good job in there, Phoenix!" said Mia. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Chief," I said. "I owe it all to you."

"Not at all, not at all! You fought your own battles in there. It's been a while since I've seen a trial end on such a satisfying note!"

I couldn't believe how happy my boss looked at the time. If she was this happy, I imagined just how Larry would feel. Unfortunately, he was not.

"My life is over..." said the Butz.

"Larry! You're supposed to be happy! What is it this time?!"

"Aww, Nick. Don't worry 'bout me! I'll be dead and gone soon!"

"Good! Wait, no! I mean, bad! Bad bad bad! Larry, you're innocent! The case is over!"

"... But, my Cindy-windy's gone, man! Gone forever!"

I wanted to remind him that his girlfriend was a model, but I couldn't. Just then, Mia congratulated him, mispronouncing his name "Harry" in the process.

"Yes, you," she said. "I can just see the headlines now: 'Harry Butz Innocent!'"

Larry felt grateful for her and thanked her for proving him innocent even though I was the one who got him off the hook and everything! He even went as far as to give her a little present: another clock that looked like _The Thinker_! It turns out that he made two of them himself: one for Ms. Stone and one for himself; the one used as the murder weapon was the victim's, of course. Mia gave Larry her thanks, saying she would keep it as a memento of sorts.

"Yo, Nick. Can you believe it? I was so into the chick. And... and she was just playing me for a fool! Don't that make you wanna just cry?" Larry sobbed. But not to worry, I offered him some comfort, as did Mia.

"Are you so sure?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" said Larry.

"I think she thought quite a lot of you, in her own way."

"Nah, that's okay. You don't gotta sympathize with me."

"Oh, I'm not just sympathizing, really. Isn't that right, Wright? Don't you have something to show your friend? Something that proves how she felt about him?"

I kind of jumped when Mia asked me that question because I didn't know what she was talking about, but I decided to present that "something" to my pal, anyway. That "something" was the clock he made for her, the one she kept.

"Hmm, she probably just needed a clock, that's all."

"You think so? It's a pretty heavy clock to take when traveling."

"..."

"Well, make of it you will, Larry."

"Hey, Nick? I'm glad asked you to be my lawyer. Really, I am. Thanks."

I hoped that our little exchange about the clock made him feel better, which it probably did. Anyway, after Larry left the courthouse, Mia said something to me that I'll never forget:

"Phoenix... I hope you see the importance of evidence now. Also, hopefully you realize, things change depending on how you look at them. People, too. We never really know if our clients are guilty or innocent. All we can do is believe in them. And in order to believe in them, you have to believe in yourself. Phoenix... Listen. Learn. Grow strong. Never let go of what you believe in. Never."

* * *

"And that's how my first case came to a close," said Phoenix.

"Good story, Daddy," said Trucy.

"I agree," said Apollo.

"Me, too," said Iris.

"Oh, I'm not done just yet. I promised Mia that I would tell exactly the reason why I became a defense attorney, starting with Larry."

"Did you get paid?" Apollo asked.

"Nah, I don't think so. Unless you count the clock Larry gave to my boss." Phoenix chuckled. Soon, his chuckling died a little, remembering what happened a month after his first case. His pondering was interupted by the sound of a cell phone going off.

"Excuse me," said Apollo, answering the phone. "Yeah, this is Justice... Okay, I'll be right there!"

"Who was that, Apollo?" asked Trucy.

"It's a client requesting my services."

"Huh? But shouldn't Daddy take care of this? I mean his name's been-"

"That's alright, Trucy," said Phoenix. "After all, I haven't taken the bar exam for a while. So I'll just leave this to you, Apollo."

"Thanks, Mr. Wright!" said Apollo enthusiastically as he and Trucy went to the detention center for another trial.

"Iris?"

"Y-Yes, Feenie?"

"Let's have a little test to make sure you've known everything I've said."

"O-Okay. How does it go?"

"I'm going to ask you five questions, and if you know the answer, then... well, say it." He chuckled.

"Hee hee hee. Okay, Feenie. I'm ready."

* * *

Recap Time

1.) "Ten years ago, I had just passed the bar exam and began working under the eye of Ace Attorney Mia Fey. For my first case, I was asked by my friend Larry Butz to defend him on the charge of..."

a. Murder

b. Arson

c. Robbery

"Murder."

"Correct. Larry was accused of murdering his girlfriend. Her name was Cindy Stone."

2.) "At 10:00 AM on August 3rd, 2016, my first trial had begun. The presiding judge took notice of my uneasy state and decided to conduct a three-question test to ascertain my readiness. The first two included the names of the defendant and the murder victim. The third and final question was..."

a. Date of death

b. Cause of death

"How did the victim die?"

"That's right. The cause of death was due to blunt trauma from a single blow to the head. The murder weapon itself was a statue shaped like _The Thinker_. Or at least we thought it was."

3.) "Larry was soon called to the stand and spoke before thinking, causing problems for us. After being given a motive, he was asked if he had gone to the victim's apartment to which he said yes. He claimed the victim wasn't home yet, but the prosecution had a witness to counter his claims. The name of the witness was..."

a. Frank Sahwit

b. Winston Payne

c. Mia Fey

"Frank Sahwit."

"Yeah, that's it. His occupation was listed as 'newspaper salesman.'"

4.) "Mr. Sahwit's testimony was as holey as Swiss cheese; first, he mistook the time of discovery, then, he tried to say the mistake was due to a video even though there was a blackout, and finally he said it was a table clock that said the time, calling it the murder weapon. How exactly did he know about the weapon being a clock when it looked like a miniature statue at first glance?"

a. He heard about it.

b. He had seen it before.

c. He held it.

"He was holding it in his hands."

"That's right. He used it to hit and kill the victim. I proved his guilt when I pointed that Ms. Stone hadn't reset her clock since coming back from an overseas trip to Paris. Soon after, we learned that Sahwit was just a small-time burglar."

5.) "I won my first trial on a happy note. Well, except Larry was feeling down because he was still sad that Ms. Stone was dead, and he believed that she was just messing with him. But Mia thought otherwise. What was it that proved that Ms. Stone thought something of Larry again?"

a. The clock

b. A passport

"It was the table clock she took with her overseas."

"That's it. Larry made that clock for her. In fact, he made two of them: one for her and the other for himself."

* * *

"Um, Feenie?" asked Iris.

"Yes?"

"Why were you so quiet all of a sudden? You just talked about Mr. Larry giving my cousin that clock and that's when you stopped chuckling. I-is it because of... th-that incident a month later?"

After some pondering, Phoenix said, "Yes, Iris. I didn't know it then, but that clock was going to be at the center of another incident. And my promise to tell the chief about me and Larry would be one promise that I wouldn't be able to keep..."

"Oh, Feenie..." She didn't need to hear anymore... at least not until the next morning.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. Next time, Phoenix tells Iris about how he got involved in the investigation of his mentor's death, how he met the young lady who would become his trusted friend, ally, and partner, and the prosecutor who would, at the time, stop at nothing to win a trial.

Author's note: Just so you know the recap session at the end is a reference to _Trace Memory_ (aka _Another Code: Two Memories_ ) and _Hotel Dusk: Room 215_ , two adventure games developed by Cing. As for why Iris knew that the agency started under Mia's name, we can assume that Phoenix told her in one of his visits to the detention center.


	2. Turnabout Sisters, Investigation

Phoenix Wright: The Good Old Days

This time, Iris will be the only one to listen to Phoenix's story. And I'll separate it into different sections like the game did.

Chapter 2: Turnabout Sisters, Investigation

Nobember 15, 9:30 AM

Wright Anything Agency

It was a morning like any other for Phoenix, except this time, he woke up to see his beloved Iris sleeping on his shoulder. He gently stroked her hair, waking her up in the process.

"Good morning, Feenie," said Iris.

"Good morning," said Phoenix.

The two gave each other a sweet good morning kiss and hug. As Iris was hugging him, she thought back to the days of her youth when she posed as her sister.

 _Sister_ , she thought. _Mia's sister, Mystic Maya. Phoenix's partner. My cousin..._

"Feenie?" she asked.

"Yes?" he answered.

"I've been thinking. You met Mystic Maya during that incident ten years ago, did you not? I'd like to know more about it."

"Well, I, uh..."

"Please, Feenie?"

After thinking long and hard, Phoenix decided the time was right to tell her about Mia Fey's murder, alone. As luck would have it, Apollo and Trucy were absent from the agency; they were at the courthouse preparing for the trial of their most recent client.

"I kind of wish we were at the courthouse today," said Phoenix, "but I think they can take care of it."

"I'm sure they will," Iris said confidently.

"Anyway... It all started the night of September 5 just eight minutes after 9:00, back when this place was called the Fey & Co. Law Offices."

Ten years ago

September 5, 9:08 PM

Fey & Co. Law Offices

I came to the office late, hoping I didn't miss my appointment with Mia. She told me her sister was coming over so we could all go out for dinner.

"Dinner?"

"A friendly dinner, Iris. No need to be upset."

"O-oh... I'm sorry, Feenie. Go on."

I caught a whiff of some strange scent: blood! Worried for my employer's safety, I rushed into her office. The room was dark, but I could still smell blood. I heard something, too. It was the sound of someone crying. I looked over to the source: a young woman in her late teens crying over a dead body: Mia's! I cried out "Chief..." to get an answer. But no response. She was murdered!

I looked to the girl and asked who she was, but all she did was pass out. I picked her up and placed her on the sofa and went back to the chief. Her body was still warm... I could feel it when I herld her shoulder. Then, all too quickly, it began to fade... Until finally she was cold.

Iris was weeping, tears pouring out of her eyes, sniffling.

"Oh, how awful!" she cried. Phoenix wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her down, as well as resisting the urge to join in.

After some sniffles, Iris calmed down but was still tearing. Phoenix wiped them off and kissed her cheek.

"I-I'm sorry, Feenie. P-please continue."

"Okay."

It was hard seeing her like that, but I had to examine the office for clues. I took notice of _The Thinker_ lying next to her corpse; it must have been used to kill her. How ironic that it became the murder weapon once more. I also found shards of that glass light stand near her. The last thing found near Mia's body was a receipt that was dated the day before; I found a name written in blood on the back of that paper. The name was "Maya."

"'Maya!?'" Iris screamed.

"Yes," Phoenix said grimly. "As we know now, the criminal wrote that for one purpose only: to frame Maya for the crime. But we'll get to that later."

"O-Okay..."

"After enough snooping around, I decided to phone the police and find out what that girl in the strange clothing was up to."

"Strange?"

"S-sorry..." Phoenix replied as he stratched his head in embarassment.

After leaving the body, I picked up the receiver only to notice a few screws on it were missing. Someone must been taking it apart. Before I could figure out exactly what was wrong, someone suddenly screamed.

"Police!? Please come quick!"

I looked over to the source of the screaming and found a pink-haired woman holding a phone in her hand. I couldn't stay in the office longer so I went back outside only to find the girl from before gone!

 _Uh-oh... I hope she didn't run on me._ But just as I was thinking this, she suddenly appeared behind me. I turned around and there she was!

"Yipes!" I shouted. After regaining my composure, I had my chance to ask her some questions.

"Excuse me, but, who are you?"

The young lady could only look down on the floor in sadness.

"It's okay. I work here." I told her.

"Maya," she said. "Maya Fey."

"Maya... Fey?" I thought back to the receipt with the bloody name on it. Maybe I should show her the receipt?

But before I could do that, I decided to get her side of the story.

 _She seems to be shock. I don't want to disturb her, but I have to know._

"Um... excuse me?" I asked. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I came in," she said. "The room was dark. And Sis... Sis...!" Maya was close to crying again, so I didn't need to ask her about that anymore.

"So, you're the chief's...?"

"Sister. I'm her younger sister."

"And you were here... visiting? This late at night?"

"Yeah. She said she wanted me to keep some evidence for her.

"Evidence?"

"Yes. I-It was that clock. It was _The Thinker_."

I had to get some sort of answers from her, and like an idiot, I showed her the receipt.

"Before Mia died, she wrote a message with her own blood. She wrote it on the back of this receipt."

Maya gasped at the sight of her name written in blood. Then she absolutely lost it.

"Th-th-that's MY name! W-Why?! Why would she write my name?"

"Please, just calm down."

"W-why would Sis write my name?" she asked, crying.

 _Now I've done it_ , I thought.

"Phoenix Wright!" Iris shouted. "Why did you show her that paper?"

"I wasn't thinking properly at the time," said Phoenix. "The only thing I could think about was finding out about what happened to Mia. I didn't think..."

"Those are the key words, Phoenix. 'Didn't think.'"

"I'm sorry, Iris."

"It's alright, Phoenix. I'm not mad, really. I'm just shocked that you... you know..."

"Yeah, what I did was pretty stupid, but the things I did after were stupider than that."

"Huh?"

"You'll know soon enough."

The next thing I knew, the sound of sirens penetrated our ears. The police had finally arrived.

"Freeze! Police!" said a gruff voice. It was coming from this big lug in a green trench coat. "Alright, I'm Detective Dick Gumshoe, see?"

 _Gumshoe? What an odd name._

"We received a report from the building across the way, see? Got a person saying they saw a murder."

The person the detective mentioned must have been the woman I saw earlier.

"Anyway, I don't want either of you moving one inch, 'kay?"

 _Great. Just great,_ I thought. _Maya... She couldn't have... Nah._

"WHOA! 'Scuse me!" the detective said.

"Y-yes?" Maya timidly asked.

"Does the word 'Maya' have any meaning to you?"

"Um, that's my name..."

"WHAAAT!?"

The detective in the green coat jumped to conclusions, saying that the victim wrote her killer's name with her blood, and thus arresting Mia's sister on the spot. I was taken in for questioning and didn't come out 'til the next day. I dropped by the detention center so I could talk to Maya as soon as possible.

"I can't believe the police were so quick as to arrest a suspect without even questioning her!" said Iris.

"Neither can I," said Phoenix. "But that's how it happened. Detective Gumshoe wasn't exactly who I'd call 'corrupt,' but he was pretty hostile to me back then."

"Because you were a defense attorney?"

"Yes."

"How did you feel when you first visited Mystic Maya in the detention center?"

"I felt they had poor Maya locked up like a criminal, what with the big glass separating us."

"Poor Maya."

"She asked me if I was going to be her attorney for the trial, so I decided to cheer her up first of all by saying yes."

"How did she respond?"

"Funny thing is... her reaction wasn't what I thought it'd be. She thought that no one would believe she was innocent, not even me."

"What?!"

"She told me that I was looking at her like she actually did it, but I don't really know if I did or not."

"Phoenix! That's a terrible thing to assume."

"I know, Iris. Whether or not I looked at Maya like what she thought, I didn't know at the time."

"Well anyway, Feenie, please continue..."

"Alright."

It was after that the conversation switched to how Maya learned about me from sister on the phone. Mia told her to give me about three years to develop into a stronger lawyer. I kind of felt hurt hearing that, kind of. But it was true, I was lacking in experience. However I still couldn't just sit there and watch. After all, Mia's real killer was still out there on the streets.

"I know." Maya agreed with me, tears coming out of her eyes. There was still something that I wanted to ask her, like her clothes. That's when I learned for the first time that she was a spirit medium... in training.

"So, you're an acolyte. A... medium-in-training?"

"That's right. We, the women of the Fey family, have always been spirit mediums. They say E.S.P. flows through our veins."

"Wait a second! The 'Fey family'? You mean Mia was into this stuff, too?"

"Of course! She left the mountain to 'follow her career,' she said. Her powers were first-class, too!"

"This got me thinking. Iris?"

"Yes?"

"You're a member of the Fey clan, but you don't have any spiritual power, right? Because you were born in a branch family?"

"That's right. Even though I am a Fey, I lack the powers that my cousins have."

After hearing Maya's story about being a spirit medium, I thought she could contact Mia for me so that we'd know who really killed her, but Maya's powers were too weak. So I changed topics real quick when I asked her about the day of the murder.

Maya got a phone call from her sister that day; she wanted her to hold onto some important evidence for one of her trials: the clock shaped like The Thinker.

"How could that have been evidence in a case?"

"Um, right, she said something about that... Oh! I remember now. Do you wanna hear it in her own voice?"

'H-Her own voice!?"

"Yes. I'm pretty sure our conversation is on my cell phone."

"Ah, you recorded it!"

"Yeah! I forgot how to delete those things."

"Let's hear it!"

"Right! Oh! I just remembered: the detective took my cell phone."

"That's okay. I'll ask Detective Gumshoe when I see him."

"I'll write you a note so you don't forget."

Before I went to investigate the crime scene, Maya asked me to a favor for her. I was to find this veteran defense attorney and ask him to represent her in court the next day. She was told by Mia that she was ever in trouble, she'd turn to that lawyer for help. I asked her about her parents, but I only got a sad silence as her reply.

"I... I see," I said. "Don't worry, leave it to me."

"Thank you," said Maya. "The trial's tomorrow... at 10:00."

"W-What?! Tomorrow?!"

"Tomorrow."

"What if this guy refuses?"

"They told me that if I don't find one, the state will pick an attorney to defend me."

"When will that happen?"

"They're giving me until 4:00 this afternoon."

4:00 PM. The same time visiting hours were almost up; I had to hurry and find this attorney before then.

Soon after, I went to the address on the paper Maya gave me: Grossberg Law Offices. The first thing I noticed in the office was this large painting on the wall, a painting of what appeared to be fishermen. Unfortunately, the boss was absent from his workplace, so I left to back and investigate the crime scene.

The office was full of cops, all busily searching for clues. When suddenly...

"Hey! You there!" It was the detective in the green coat from the night before. "This is a crime scene, pal! No trespassing!" He then started to recognize me but got my name wrong. "Wait, you're that Butz guy, aren't you?"

"No, no," I said. "Phoenix Wright." _How could anyone mistake me for Larry!?_

"Ah, guess I got the wrong name, Mr. Wright. Sorry 'bout that," he chuckled. "That Butz guy, he was a killer! And you're no killer, right?"

Larry WAS proven innocent, though.

"Wow, that detective sure seemed confused."

"That's what I thought, too."

"Confusing you for Mr. Larry, even though you two were different in appearance... and personality."

"Right."

I struggled to remember the man's name, and then I got it: Detective Gumshoe.

"Gumshoe, wasn't it? Dick Gumshoe?" I asked.

"Right! At your service," he said.

"Hang on! That's Detective Gumshoe to you, pal! Anyway, get the name right. And don't go calling me Dick."

"Hey, Dick! Get over here!" said one of the police officers.

"Y-Yes, sir! Be right there!" Gumshoe said as he scratched the back of his head. Apparently, the only ones allowed to call him by his first name were his fellow police officers.

"Ahem! You're her lawyer, right, pal? If you got business here, you'd better do it quick!"

What an incredible stroke of luck! Gumshoe thought I was Maya's attorney! I had to get all the information I could from him, so I talked with him about Mia.

"About Ms. Fey... Did you do an autopsy?

"Hmm? You want to know the results, eh?"

"..."

"Now don't look at me like that, pal! It's no use! She might have been your boss, but that doesn't mean you get any special treatment. Alright, alright. You can see the report, but that's all!"

Gumshoe gladly handed me the autopsy report on my mentor; I looked it over and noted that she died instantly like I thought.

"So, Mia's death was instantaneous."

"That's right, pal. She was... a beautiful person."

"You knew her, Detective?"

"Sure. All of us down at the precinct knew Ms. Fey. Much as it pains me to say, she was a darn good lawyer." I could have sworn I saw him shed a tear as he said that. "Hey, what are you looking at? I just got a little dust in my eye, that's all."

"Huh, so I guess someone from the police took it personally when Mia died."

"Yeah, they first met in court like four years ago."

"Huh? Y-You don't mean..."

"Yeah..."

"Oh."

Next, we talked about my "client," Maya.

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to the trial! Sorry, pal, but this is one trial you aren't going to win!"

"W-Why do you say that?!"

"The city's put **Prosecutor Edgeworth** on the prosecution!"

 _Edgeworth..._ That name sent a shiver up my spine.

"I'm sure you know what that means, you being a lawyer and all."

"Prosecutor Edgeworth?" asked Iris. "You mean Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, your friend?"

"The very same... except the Edgeworth that was going to be prosecuting Maya wasn't the same guy that helped me with your case, personality-wise."

"Huh? How so?"

"You'll know soon after."

"Prosecutor Edgeworth..."

"That's right, pal! Mr. Miles Edgeworth himself! Wait... you do know him, don't you!?"

"Never heard of him," I lied.

"Whoa! And you call yourself a lawyer, pal?! About four years ago, this Edgeworth guy became a presecutor at the age of 20! Everyone says he's a genius. Surprised you don't know him!"

 _Of course I know him; I was just playing dumb._ I thought. _He's a cold, heartless machine who'll do anything to get a "guilty" verdict!_ There were rumors about him at the time; rumors of back-alley deals and forged evidence seemed to pop everytime people talked about him. All I knew then was that Edgeworth hated crime with an almost abnormal passion. I never thought I'd face him in court so soon...

"Forging evidence? Mr. Edgeworth?" asked a surprised Iris.

"I was shocked, too, Iris. That's the other reason I became a defense attorney: to meet Edgeworth and find out why he had changed so much," said Phoenix.

"How did you come across these rumors, Phoenix?"

"It was like back in college when I was in the art department. I read a newspaper article about him. The headline said something like, 'Dark Suspicions of a Demon Attorney.' Forging evidence, manipulating witnesses, you name it. The article said that he would stop at nothing to win cases, nothing."

"But he's still changed, right? Right?"

"That's right, Iris. After that case, he changed. But that's another story."

"O-okay..."

After talking with Gumshoe about Edgeworth, I showed him the memo Maya had given me; I had to get Maya's cell phone back.

"I was wondering," said I. "Do you have Maya Fey's cell phone?"

"Oh that? Yeah, I got it."

"Do you think you could give it back?"

"Sure! I mean, wait a second, pal! Tricky lawyer!"

 _Uh-oh, he's onto me!_ I thought. I had to do something to get that phone back. Anything. So, I made up a little story about Maya wanting it back because her "boyfriend"'s number was on it.

"A cell phone holds all a little girl's sweetest and spiciest secret!"

"Urk! Y-You're trying to confuse me!" He laughed. "Sorry, pal. I alreadly checked all the numbers!"

"Impressive," I said, flattering him. "You're quite the detective."

"Uh-huh. Oh, here, you can have the phone back. There weren't any suspicious calls in there, after all." With that, I finally got Maya's cell phone back. It seemed that Detective Gumshoe didn't notice the recorded conversation.

"You all done here, pal?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Wait a second! I don't suppose you're planning on talking to the witness. Anyway, you'd better not! No influencing the witness with your lawyerly ways, pal!"

I almost completley forgot about the woman from that night: Miss April May.

"Sorry about this, but I can't tell you anything about her." Gumshoe said, not realizing he told me her name.

"So, you sent her home already?"

Gumshoe could only laugh and say he wouldn't fall for my "lawyerly tricks," but what he didn't know was that he gave me her location: she was still at the hotel across from the office, the Gatewater Hotel.

"I guess I should know better than to try and get a detective to leak information," I said.

"You got it, pal!" said Detective Gumshoe, unable to realize he just did what he said he wouldn't do.

Next stop: the Gatewater Hotel. I asked the front desk to where Miss May was staying and got the room number: 303. That's when I met one of the most annoying people on the planet, April May herself. "Well! Hello there, handsome," she said. Miss May was a young woman with pink hair and pink blouse with pink heart-shaped buttons to match.

"Um... hi," I said sheepishly.

"You're the lawyer, aren't you? The detective told me. He said, 'Don't say nothing to that lawyer, pal!' Tee hee!"

I made a mental note to myself: thank Detective Gumshoe for making my job harder.

"Gee! This is all like something out of a movie! It's all so exciting, I can hardly contain myself! Ooh! Let me go freshen up so I can look the part of the beautiful eyewitness!" Then she went to her bathroom... leaving me there to pity the attorney who had to question her in court the next day.

From what I saw, Miss May was excited... too excited if you ask me. If she WAS the witness to a murder, she could not had been that eccentric.

"But then again, a lot of these people are," said Phoenix.

"Seems so, since you've just about cross-examined a lot of them from what I've heard."

"Yeah. A lot."

"What did you do, then?"

"I looked around the room and noticed to wine glasses on the table."

"Oh, somebody was staying with her then, I take it?"

"Yes. The other thing I noticed was this blue screwdriver sticking out of the far left drawer."

"A screwdriver? What was that doing there?"

"That's what I thought, too. I went to take a peek, when suddenly..."

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? NO TOUCHING!" Miss May said as she caught me. She looked like she was about to blow a gasket. "You really shouldn't pry around in other people's rooms, now. You wouldn't want to make me upset, would you?"

I asked all questions relating to the murder, what she saw, that room, and a bit of herself. But I didn't get anything out of her. Anything. She told me if I wanted to hear her story, I'd come to the trial. That's not all, she was taunting and insulting me at every turn. At that point, I just gave up; she wasn't going to cooperate with me, and I knew for certain she wouldn't let me look inside that drawer, so I left the hotel and went elsewhere.

"OOH!" Iris exclaimed. "What a rude little... well, I'm not going to say it, because it's not nice."

"Like that woman," said Phoenix.

"I'm sorry, Feenie."

"It's alright, Iris."

"So after you were unable to obtain information from the prosecution's witness, you went somewhere else, right?"

"Yes."

I went to back to the office of the attorney Maya wanted me to ask into defending her; and to my surprise, someone made his presence known with a loud, over-the-top clearing of the throat! It was the aforementioned attorney, Marvin Grossberg. He seemed vaguely familiar but the memory escaped me somewhat.

"That badge on your collar..." he remarked, for he had one himself; he had a badge in the lapel of his suit. "Ah, so you're a lawyer, are you now?"

"Well... yes," I stuttered. It wasn't everyday when you talk to a famous defense attorney.

"And what do you want? I'm not particularly busy these days. Please, proceed!"

 _Not busy?_ I thought. _Then how come no one could get in touch with you?_

"Hmm? Something the matter?" he seemed to notice I was there for a reason. "You came to see the one-and-only Marvin Grossberg, did you not? Well, here I am, boy! What do you want? Out with it!" he shouted. Clearly, he seemed impatient but willing to listen to what I was going to say... until I mentioned the name, "Maya Fey," which got a bizzare reaction out of him.

"Ah... yes. Maya Fey. Go on," said Mr. Grossberg, looking guilty for some reason. "I'm really quite busy, son. I can't go taking cases on a day's notice! No, it's quite impossible."

"Wait a second! How did you know the trial was tomorrow!?"

Grossberg again flinched. "A-anyway... I'm afraid it's entirely impossible for me to represent her. Sorry. End of discussion."

I couldn't believe what he said to me. This man, who I've been slaving my way to find for Maya, just refused to take her case before I had the chance to ask him!

"W-why did he do such a thing?!" Iris shouted. "You've been trying to find this man all that time so you could ask him to defend Mystic Maya, and he just turned you down?!"

"I didn't know the answer at that point, but it was clear that he hid something from me," Phoenix said. "I asked him why he refused like that, but he said the same excuse: he was 'busy,' even though the defendant was Mia's sister. My boss trusted him, because she knew that her sister would be in good hands. But he still refused!"

Iris groaned. _How could he just refuse to represent an innocent girl about to be tried for a murder she didn't commit!?_ she thought. "Was there any reason why he said no?"

"He didn't tell me at first, so I went to go elsewhere for another lawyer. However, Grossberg told me something rather ominous. He said 'no lawyer worth their salt will take on this particular case.' I asked what he meant, but he wouldn't tell me."

"Hmm... That sounds suspicious. From what Mr. Grossberg told you, it sounded like somebody was hiding behind the shadows and pulling the strings."

"Exactly."

Before I left, I decided to ask Grossberg how he knew Mia in the first place. It turned out that she was one of his employees, one of the best at his firm. "She left one day, quite suddenly..." said Grossberg. "She had a mission, you see."

"A 'mission?'" I asked. What sort of "mission" was she on?

"You could see it in her eyes. She followed it with a burning passion; never looked back, that one."

Next, I asked him about the painting on the wall. He was rather smitten with it, calling it his "pride and joy." He ranted about everything in the painting: the sky, the sea, and the straw hat. According to him, it was worth at least three million. He had absolutely no intention of selling it, even though I never asked.

"It's not for sale!"

"I'm not buying!" _Geez!_

"Well, I just asked about the painting, and he went nuts over it!" Phoenix shouted.

Iris giggled. "Oh, Phoenix." She laughed to herself. "He must've been real proud of that painting."

"He sure was." At least until he gave it up... "Anyway, let's move on."

"Alright. You left Mr. Grossberg's office without him accepting your offer. Where did you go next?"

"I went to the detention center to tell Maya the bad news..."

September 6, 3:42 PM

Detention Center

Visitor's Room

Just 18 minutes before visiting hours ended, I talked with Maya about the lawyer she sent me to ask to be her counsel. I tried my best to find out how to break the news to her, but... She found out right away, feeling abanonded. I had to change the subject, so I showed Maya her cell phone. She asked if she could hear the conversation on her phone, and I obliged. Maya closed her eyes... She listened to every word with such intensity... Before long, tears began to roll down her cheeks. All she said to me was, "Thank you."

Iris sniffed. "Oh, Feenie. You did such a good thing."

"Are you sure?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes. Mystic Maya must have felt better when she heard her sister's voice."

"You know, if I ever see Maya again, I'll ask her about how she felt."

"I think she'll say the same thing."

Phoenix smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Anyway, moving on..."

I asked her about the day of the murder again.

"Could you tell me about the day of the murder? Sorry, I know it must be hard."

"No, it's okay," said Maya. "All I've been doing the last few hours is talking about it. I've kind of gotten used to it... Let's see... that morning, I got a call from my sister. She wanted me to hold onto a piece of evidence for an upcoming trial."

"So then, when did you arrive at the office?"

"It was right around 9:00. The lights were off and... I could smell blood." Maya was on the verge of tear again. "Th-Then I found her. My sister..."

We changed topics again. This time about her family. I learned a lot of things about them, things I was sure never to forget.

"I only had my sister. My father died when I was very young, and I don't know where my mother is."

 _Don't know? I thought. Could she still be alive?_

"M-Mystic Misty..." Iris sniffled.

"Iris..." said Phoenix, comforting her.

Maya told me all she knew about her family. "The women in my family have been mediums for generations. The power to communicate with the dead runs in our blood. About 15 years ago, our family was involved in an... incident. There was a man, and he... he... He ruined our mother's life. After that, she disappeared. Several years after that, my sister announced that she would 'become a lawyer,' and so, she left the mountain."

"So, you live by yourself?" I asked.

"Yes. I've gotten used to it. Oh, also... I had to become independent, or I would lose my E.S.P.!"

I felt bad for her, living on that mountain all by herself... She was actually a brave young woman to endure such loneliness. I asked her about her mother's "enemy," the man who "ruined" her.

"About 15 years ago, there was an unusual mruder case. It made quite a stir; everybody was talking about it, apparently. The police were running out of leads, and they were getting desparate..."

"Wait... they didn't use a spirit medium, did they?"

"The police convinced my mother to try and contact the victim."

"Wow... So, what happened?"

"The case was solved... we thought."

"You 'thought'...?"

"The man my mother helped the police capture was found innocent."

"Phoenix!" Iris said. "That was the **DL-6 Incident** she was talking about!"

"Yes," said Phoenix. "That's how I came to learn about that case. From Maya. She told me that the police were working with your aunt was carried out in secret, but someone found out about it and leaked it to the press. This man reported that Misty was a fraud, and the reporters had a field day."

Iris knew what he was talking about. Her aunt became the laughingstock of the country, and the Kurain Channeling School's reputation took a nosedive. "That's around the time my father took us away from Kurain."

"That's right... Do you know the name of the man responsible for the leak?"

"I-I don't think so, Phoenix. What was his name?"

"White..." said Maya.

"Excuse me? White?" I asked her.

"That was his name. My sister told me."

"White? Hmm..."

"Just a little longer now til the state-appointed lawyer comes, I guess."

Visiting hours were almost up, and I had two choices: leave her and go home with the possibility of her being falsely convicted of her sister's murder, or take the case myself and represent her in court the next day. That's when it happened.

"I've made up my mind! I'm going to defend you whether you want me to or not!"

Maya jumped; she didn't expect me to be her attorney at all. "Why?"

"Why? Well..." I thought long and hard about why. This girl sitting in front of me had no one left to help or believe in her. Nothing was more sad or lonely than that. I had been in her position before. A long time ago. I became a defense attorney... because someone had to look out for people who had no one on their side.

"Maya, I won't abandon you. You can count on me."

This time, she cried tears of happiness, knowing that she finally had someone willing to help her.

"Oh, Feenie! That was so kind of you!" Iris said as she cried, embracing Phoenix once more.

Phoenix chuckled. "Maya said the exact same thing."

They sat there on the sofa, hugging until Iris calmed down a little. She sniffed some and asked for him to resume telling his story.

"We made a pact with each other from that point on. She trusted me and I trusted her."

"A pact that would later enable you two to work together for future cases!"

"Indeed."

Iris giggled again. "Anyway, what did you do after that?"

"I went back to April May's hotel room to find what was inside her drawer. That was when she got all defensive."

Upon entering Miss May's room, I came across the hotel bellboy, who just happened to be there for room service. I asked him where that woman was, and he said that she was occupied, so to speak. He then turned to exit the room, leaving me an opportunity to snoop around and find that clue. When suddenly...

"Ah, I almost forgot!" The bellboy said as he came back in a flash, surprising me. "Might I ask you to inform Miss May that there is a message for her? Please tell her that Mr. White, or Bluecorp phoned.

"Oh, right," I replied. "Sure." As soon as the bellboy left, I thought back to what Maya said to me.

 _White was the guy who ruined Mia and Maya's mother! Could it be a coincidence?_

With nobody watching, I finally got my chance to see the inside of the open drawer; to my surprise, I found a wiretap! "What would a woman like her be doing with a thing like this?" I asked myself, taking the device with me. There was definitely something suspicious about "Miss May," alright. I would use it as evidence at the trial for sure. For Maya's sake, I swore to get to the bottom of that mess.

Just then, May called for the bellboy, which signaled me to get out of there as fast as I could. _I look forward to tangoing with you tomorrow, Miss May_ , I thought. _In court!_

"And that's it for now," said Phoenix. "I'll tell you about the trial later this evening, say 6:00? Is that okay with you, Iris?"

"Mm-hmm," she said. "I'm looking forward to hearing about your first trial against Mr. Edgeworth!"

"I knew you would."

Iris could only giggle. "But first, let's recap over what happened. Shall we?"

"Of course."

Recap Time

1.) "On the night of September 5, just a month after my court debut, I found the dead body of my mentor Mia Fey, lying underneath the window in her office. Crying over her corpse was a young teenage girl. After she passed out, I went to examine the chief's body for clues. I found that clock lying next to her, along with shards from a glass light stand and a scrap of paper with a name written in blood on the back of it. That name was..."

a. Harry

b. Maya

c. April

"'Maya'."

"That's right. It had the name of the girl I found at the scene written on it. Her younger sister, Maya Fey."

2.) "Someone from the building across the street phoned the police about the murder. On the scene came Detective Gumshoe who, upon finding the bloody note, arrested Maya on the spot. I visited her in the detention center the next day and learned that she was a..."

a. Law student

b. Detective

c. Spirit medium

"Spirit medium... in training."

"That's right. Her whole family, including Mia, was involved with the paranormal."

"Including me. Except I'm a nun and not a medium. Hee hee..."

3.) "Maya instructed me to find this lawyer called Grossberg, but he wasn't at the office, so I decided to head back to the crime scene. The man in charge of investigating the scene was the arresting officer, Dick Gumshoe who thought I was Maya's attorney (even I though wasn't yet!). I asked him for the chief's autopsy and about Maya. He was pretty sure that the case was good as solved because of the prosecutor whose name was..."

a. Payne

b. White

c. Edgeworth

"Miles Edgeworth."

"Correct. Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. He went to the same elementary school with me and Larry. We were close friends until he transferred to another school."

"Transferred?"

"Yes. I'll tell you more."

"Okay. Please continue."

4.) "I remembered that Maya had given me a note, reminding me to get her cell phone back from Gumshoe. After some talking and other nonsense, I finally got it. He then told me not to talk to April May, the woman I saw the night of the murder. She was still in the hotel room, waiting for her big day in court, testifying against Maya. The name of the hotel was..."

a. Gatewater

b. Bluecorp

"The Gatewater Hotel."

"That's right. The Gatewater Hotel. I found a screwdriver sticking out of a drawer but she stopped me and got mad."

5.) "After getting nothing from the horse's mouth, I finally met with Marvin Grossberg the attorney but he refused to take the case before I even asked him to! He wouldn't tell me the reason so I told Maya the bad news. After telling me about this 'White' person who ruined her mother, I took the chance to represent her in court and went back to Miss May's hotel room. She wasn't there, so I had the chance to peek in that drawer and found something shocking. What was it?"

a. A screwdriver

b. Miss May's underwear

c. A wiretap

"A wiretap."

"Yes, that was it. I found that she was hiding a wiretap in her hotel room."

"So, after you were done investigating, all you had to do now was wait for the next day, right?"

"Yes, I did," said Phoenix.

In the next chapter, Phoenix tells Iris about his second time in court, facing his old friend Miles Edgeworth for the first time.


	3. Turnabout Sisters, Trial

Phoenix Wright: The Good Old Days

* * *

Chapter 3: Turnabout Sisters, Part 2: Trial

November 19, 5:58 PM

Wright Anything Agency

Phoenix and Iris met up at the agency where they agreed to talk about the former's second time in the courtroom. Earlier in the day, just about three hours ago, Apollo and Trucy were talking about their case that day in court. Apollo barely managed to avoid a guilty verdict but had to investigate for tomorrow's trial.

"So, tell me, Feenie," said Iris.

"Yes, Iris?" asked Phoenix.

"How did you make it through the first day of Mystic Maya's trial? Was Mr. Edgeworth really that bad?"

Phoenix took a short pause before answering. "You'll know soon enough."

* * *

September 7, 10:00 AM

District Court

Courtroom No. 1

The court gathered around to watch all the drama that would unfold that day.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Ms. Maya Fey," said the judge.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," said the man right across the courtroom from me.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," I said, as I looked at the man at the prosecutor's bench. Miles Edgeworth, the prosecutor who'd stop at nothing to get his verdict. I knew that I had to be on my toes, because if I had shown any weaknesses, he would be onto me in an instant.

"Mr. Edgeworth, please give the court your opening statement."

"Thank you, Your Honor. The defendant, Maya Fey, was at the scene of the crime. The prosecution has evidence that she comitted this murder... and we have a witness who saw her do it. The prosecution sees no reason to doubt the facts of this case."

The judge nodded and allowed Edgeworth to summon his first witness: Detective Gumshoe.

"Witness, please state your name and profession to the court."

"Sir! My name's Dick Gumshoe, sir! I'm a detective in chage of homicides at the precinct, sir!"

"Detective Gumshoe. Please describe for us the details of this murder."

"Very well, sir! Let me use this floor map of the office to explain." He said as he lay the map for the court to see. "The body was found by this window, here."

"And the cause of the death?"

"Loss of blood due to being struck by a blunt object, sir! The murder weapon was a statue of The Thinker found next to the body, sir! It was heavy enough to be a deadly weapon, even in a girl's hands, sir!"

I still couldn't believe that the clock was still being called a "statue," even though it was proven to be a clock in my first trial. Oh, well. Edgeworth looked just about ready to attack. "Now, Detective..."

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"You immediately arrested Ms. Maya Fey, who was found at the scene. Can you tell me why?"

"Yes sir! I had hard evidence she did it, sir!"

"Detective Gumshoe," said the judge. "Please testify to the court about this 'hard evidence.'"

"As soon as the phone call came in, I rushed to the scene! There were two people there already: the defendant, Ms. Maya Fey, and the lawyer, Mr. Phoenix Wright. I immediately arrested Ms. Maya Fey! Why? We had a witness account describing her! The witness saw Ms. Maya Fey at the very moment of the murder!"

"Hmm... The very moment, you say. Very well. Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination."

"Y-Yes, Your Honor," I said, not knowing what to do until Maya threw a piece of paper at me. It said: "When my sister couldn't find any contradictions in a witness's testimony, she would bluff it and press the witness on every detail! The witness always slips up and says something wrong... It worked lots of times!"

* * *

"I should have known that Mystic Maya would know her sister's tricks!"

"That's what I thought."

* * *

"Something the matter?"

"No, Your Honor. I'd like to begin my cross-examination." And I did. I pressed the good detective on every detail.

" _As soon as the phone call came in, I rushed to the scene!_ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ " I yelled. "Who did you say you got a call from?"

"Hey, pal, don't play dumb! You know who! The call was from a custom at the Gatewater Hotel, right across from the crime scene!"

"Right. Please continue."

" _There were two people there already..._ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ " I shouted. "Detective Gumshoe, how long would you say it took between you receiving the call and your arrival at the scene of the crime?"

"Hmm, right..." he said. "I'd say it was about 3 minutes!"

"That's pretty fast!"

"Our motto this month is 'quick response!' That's how we got there before the killer got away!"

"Indeed," said Edgeworth. "So, tell us who the two people you found on the scene were."

" _The defendant, Ms. Maya Fey, and the lawyer, Mr. Phoenix Wright._ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ Are you sure it was us?!"

"Listen, pal, your dumb act will only get you so far! With her funky hippie clothes and your spiky hair? You two stand out like... like suspicious people at a crime scene!"

"'Funky hippie clothes?!'" said Iris.

" _I immediately arrested Ms. Maya Fey!_ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ Why's that? What's your reason?"

" _Why? We had a witness account describing her!_ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ Hold on just one second!"

"Y-Yeah?"

"If I heard correctly... You said you arrested her because you had 'hard evidence' that she did it, correct?"

"Huh? Did... did I say that? Me?"

I heard him say it, so did the judge, Edgeworth, and everyone else in the courtroom. I slammed my desk. "Exactly what about this suspicious woman in pink's claim was 'hard evidence'!?"

"Wh-what!? Miss May isn't suspicious! And she sure isn't pink, pal!"

 _I said IN pink, Detective. IN pink._

"That's enough, Detective Gumshoe. Do you have any more solid proof other than her claims?"

 _I guess pressing does have its advantages..._

"Yes," he suddenly said, throwing me off guard. "Sorry, I got the order of things mixed up in my testimony, Your Honor sir! There was something I should have told you about first, Your Honor!"

* * *

"Hoo boy," said Iris. "Detective Gumshoe sounds like a scatterbrain."

"That he was, Iris," said Phoenix. "That he was. The judge asked him to testify again, concerning his hard evidence."

* * *

"After securing the suspect, I examined the scene of the crime with my own eyes. I found a memo written on a piece of paper next to the victim's body! On it, the word 'Maya' was written clearly in blood! Lab test results showed that the blood was the victim's! Also, there was blood found on the victim's finger! Before she died, the victim wrote her killer's name!" Gumshoe exclaimed, setting the crowd into chatter which the judge had to break up. "How do you like that? That's my 'hard evidence!'"

Before I started questioning, the judge angrily scolded the good detective for not testifying about the bloody note earlier. As for his testimony, there was one flaw I found in it: the very end when he said that Mia wrote the name before she died.

" _Before she died, the victim wrote her killer's name!_ "

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " I shouted, pointing my index finger in Gumshoe's face. "Detective Gumshoe! There's one thing I want you to clarify for me here. You say that the victim, Mia Fey, wrote this note. That she was accusing the defendant, Maya Fey? That's what you're saying?"

"What? This isn't one of those lawyer tricks, now is it? Of course she wrote it! Who else could have!?"

I shook my head in disagreement. "You have it backwards, Detective."

"B-backwards?"

I presented Mia's autopsy to explain the inconsistency. "The victim is the only person who absolutely could NOT have written it! This is a report from your department, Detective. 'Immediate death due to a blow from a blunt object.' She died immediately!"

Gumshoe flinched. "But...!"

"No 'but'ing your way out of this, Detective!"

The audience began to talk loudly again with the judge silencing them with his gavel and calling for order. "The defense has a point," he said. "Someone who died immediately wouldn't have the time to write anything down."

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " came a voice. It was Edgeworth, looking rather calm and collected. "Mr. Wright, I beg your pardon, but when exactly did you obtain that autopsy report?"

"W-when...?" I wasn't sure what he was up to, but I answered anyway. "It was the day after the murder."

"The prosecution's point being?"

Edgeworth gave a cruel-looking smirk and tapped his finger on head, stating that the autopsy report I had was "outdated."

"A second autopsy was performed yesterday, at my request!" he said as he held a file in his hand: this "updated autopsy report." "'Death was almost immediate due to a blow from a blunt object... But there is a possibility that the victim lived for several minutes after the blow.' I received these results this morning."

"N-no way!" I yelled. That man requested another autopsy and deliberatley withheld that information until the right time!

"Your Honor! It's quite easy to imagine that the victim did have time to write 'Maya!' That is all," he said as he took an arrogant bow.

I glared right at Edgeworth's direction. I should have known that he had something up his sleeve! Edgeworth responded by shrugging and shaking his head side to side with that arrogant smirk on his face. "Why, Mr. Wright, you look shocked! Something you want to say?"

I had a lot to say about that guy and his tactics. "Mr. Edgeworth... I've heard there's nothing you won't do to get your verdict! What reason could you possibly have had to request a second autopsy report?!"

"M-Mr. Wright! The defense will refrain from personal attacks on the prosecution!"

Edgeworth's only reply was to laugh at me. "No matter, Your Honor. Mr. Wright, say what you will, the evidence in this report is undeniable. Your Honor, I submit this report to the court."

"U-understood, The court accepts the evidence."

* * *

"Much to my dismay," said Phoenix. "The 'second autopsy' said exactly what Edgeworth said: Mia died ALMOST immediately."

Iris just sat there with a look of disbelief on her face. "T-this is the same man who defended me on the first day of my trial? I-I can't believe this!"

"Sorry, Iris, but that's what he was then. Not as he is now. You may not look at him the same way anymore, but please give it some time."

"O-okay... So anyway, it didn't look good for you, huh?"

"It certainly didn't. Detective Gumshoe left the stand for Edgeworth's next witness: April May, who he described as a 'poor, innocent girl' who saw the murder with her own eyes."

"Exactly, what part about that woman was 'innocent,' Phoenix?"

"Nothing, at all... Believe me."

* * *

As soon as Miss May took the stand, every man in the courtroom fell under her influence, much to my chagrin as well as the chagrin of their girlfriends, wives, _et cetera_.

"Please state your name."

"April May! At your service!" she said, winking, making the whole male half of the audience chatter endlessly. The judge called for order and told the witness to "refrain from wanton winking."

"Tell us, where were you on the night of September 5, when the murder occurred?"

"Um, gee... I was, like, in my hotel room! Tee hee. I checked in right after lunch."

"And this hotel is directly across from the Fey & Co. Law Offices?"

"Mmm... that's right, big boy!"

With that, the judge instructed May to give her testimony.

"It was, like, 9:00 at night. I looked out the window, y'know? And then, ooh! I saw a woman with long hair being attacked! The one attacking her was the mousey girl sitting in the defendant's chair! Then the woman, like, dodged to one side and ran away! But that girl, she caught up to her and... and... She hit her! Then the woman with the long hair... She kinda... slumped. The end. That's all I saw. Every little bitsy witsy!" She winked as she concluded her testimony.

* * *

"M-Miss May... manipulated every man in court... with her cute looks?" said Iris. "She sounds just like... **her**..."

"Only less extreme..." said Phoenix. "And before my cross-examination, it looked like they were going to let her leave the stand."

"It's a good thing you stopped them before she did, because if you didn't..."

"Maya would have been found guilty right then and there. Her testimony seemed bulletproof, but I had a feeling that she had some form of weakness, something Edgeworth didn't want me to find."

"But you did anyway, by pressing her on a certain detail."

"Exactly."

* * *

"Miss May, I'm willing to bet that you're lying! Are you telling the truth? Did you really see the defendant!?"

"Urp!"

"Mr. Wright! What's the meaning of this?" the judge asked.

"If you had really witnessed my client, Maya Fey, you would've noticed her clothes before her physique!"

"No one wears clothes like this on a daily basis! Except her! I'm no expert on fashion, but her hairdo looks far from normal to me! However, the witness's testimony mentions neither of these facts! Your testimony is bogus!" Miss May was struggling to think up an excuse.

"Still, we don't know if she was dressed that way on the night of the murder."

"She was, Your Honor. I saw her. And so did Detective Gumshoe! What do you say to that,, Miss May?!"

"What are you trying to say, you mean lawyer?! I-I saw what I saw. I... just didn't think all the trifling little details were necessary, darling."

 _T-Trifling!? You left them out on purpose, you little skank!_

"Miss May, the court would like to remind you to please omit nothing in your testimony."

Miss May went back to flirt mode, promising she'd "be a good girl," and began her new testimony.

 _Damn! I almost had her._

"I did see everything! I did! The victim-the woman-dodged the first attack and ran off to the right. Then the girl in the hippie clothes ran after her... And she hit her with that weapon! I saw it! I did! That... that clock! Uh... the kinda statue-y clock? _The Thinker_ , I think! Well? Does the accuracy of my report not startle you? Tee hee!"

"I... see. I wish you had been so detailed from the beginning."

* * *

"'Detailed?' Or 'truthful?'" asked Iris.

"He did say 'detailed,' Iris," said Phoenix. "He said 'detailed.'"

"This 'Miss May' must have been a real slippery character to have neglected mentioning Mystic Maya's clothes the first time."

"She was."

* * *

When questioning her on her account, I pointed out the very obvious inconsistency.

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " I shouted. "Miss May. What you said just now was quite... revealing."

"Revealing?" May said in fake surprise. "Oooh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Naughty Mr. Lawyer..."

Ignoring her innuendos, I continued. "You just said that this 'statue' of _The Thinker_ was a clock. But there's no way of knowing that just by looking at it!" Upon hearing this, Miss May flinched; she got caught in her own lie. "Another person in the same position as you called this a 'clock,' too. And he was found guilty... of murder!" That did it. I brought April May's testimony into question with one fact: how did she know the murder weapon was a clock?

* * *

"Oh, my..." said Iris. "Another witness who knew the weapon was a table clock. Did she...?"

"No, Iris," said Phoenix. "She didn't kill Mia. But I didn't know it at the time and assumed the same thing as I did with Sahwit."

"I see... How did everyone react to this?"

"The whole court was chattering, and what followed was the first of several back-and-forth arguments between me and Edgeworth."

* * *

"Order! Order!" said the judge.

"Miss May. Can you expalin how you knew this item was a clock?"

"Oooh... urp!"

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " Edgeworth shouted. "The witness saw the murder with her own eyes! That's all that's important here!" He slammed his bench with just one palm and made his argument. "The defense is trying to confuse the issue with trivial concerns!"

"Yes... yes, of course. You will withdraw your question, Mr. Wright."

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " I yelled. "But questions are all I have, Your Honor! As you may recall, I've caught murderes with these questions before!" _Well, only once..._

His Honor thought a bit more and hit his gavel, sustaining my objection, and allowing me to resume. And a good thing, too, for if he stopped me, he'd have declared Maya guilty!

Now, back to our "lovely" witness, Miss May who looked absolutely perplexed. "So... what happens now?"

"What happens now is you answer my question!" I said, pointing my finger at her. "How did you know it was a clock?"

"Th-that... Because... I heard it? Yes! I heard it say the time!"

I slammed my desk with both palms and pointed at her again. "So, you've been to the Fey & Co. Law Offices!"

"N-N-NO! I didn't say that! I didn't go there! I heard it from my hotel room. Hee hee!" The last "hee hee" definitely sounded fake. She was, without a doubt, putting on an innocent act to back up her story.

"The law offices of Fey & Co., where the murder took place, is very close to the hotel," said Edgeworth. "She could have easily heard the clock!"

"Well, Mr. Wright? Are you satisfied?"

I shook my head in disagreement. I was NOT satisfied with her explanation because the clock could not have rung at the time of the murder. After all, the clock was missing its clockwork! I asked the judge to take a good look at the inside of the murder weapon, and sure enough, the clock was empty of its clockwork! Miss May was looking quite unnerved; the more I revealed to the court about the clock, the less credible her testimony was looking.

* * *

"Wow, Feenie! You did so well for your second trial!" said Iris.

"You sure... I was just doing my job," said Phoenix.

"Like I said, you did well. How did Mystic Maya feel?"

"To be honest, I was focusing on tearing Miss May's testimony apart; I didn't know what she was thinking, but I can just imagine her praising me mentally."

"Hee hee... I can definitely see that. How did Mr. Edgeworth take it?"

"That's what shocked me next."

* * *

"Quite a show you've put on for us, Mr. Wright," said the prosecutor clad in maroon.

He knew... Somehow Edgeworth knew that the clock was empty. He was toying with me again!

"I'm afraid you've forgotten one thing, however. Indeed, the clock is empty. As you say... it can't ring. However, I must ask: when was the clockwork removed? If it was after the witness heard the clock, then there is no contradiction! Proof is everything, Mr. Wright." He said as he smirked evilly at me. Without a doubt, he was challenging me to prove that the clock was empty at the time of the murder.

"Well, Mr. Wright?" asked the judge. "Can you prove when the clockwork was removed?"

Edgeworth shrugged, saying that it was impossible... until I confidently said that I did have proof! "W-what!?" The prosecutor was suddenly taken aback, not expecting me to have any evidence to counter him.

"Wasn't it you who told me 'proof is everything'?" I said. "Well, I was listening. And now I'll show you the 'proof' you like so much! _**TAKE THAT!**_ "

For evidence, I presented Maya's cell phone. After all, there was a recorded conversation between her and Mia on the day of the murder! When I pointed this out, Edgeworth was livid, for this was the first time he heard about this. Good thing Detective Gumshoe somehow overlooked this important information!

"Let's hear the conversation." I played the conversation at a certain part: the part where Mia asked her sister to hold evidence for her. In this section, she told Maya that the clock wasn't working because she herself took out the clockwork. "Your Honor... I think this recording makes it clear that the clockwork was already gone... and this recorded in the morning, before the witness even arrived at her hotel!"

Miss May was at a loss for words. She did NOT hear the clock ring at all.

"Well, Miss May? Would you care to explain this to the court? Just how did you know that the weapon was a clock!?"

"W-well..." In a desperate attempt to strengthen her testimony, May claimed that she saw the clock before while "shopping."

"So, the witness had seen it before. That would make sense," said the judge.

 _How gullible is this guy?_

"Does the defense have any objections, Mr. Wright?" I did.

"The witness claims she had 'seen it before.' But this directly contradicts a piece of evidence already submitted to this court!"

"Well then, let's see it. Please produce evidence that will prove the witness has not seen the clock before."

" _ **TAKE THAT!**_ " My evidence was the murder weapon itself, _The Thinker_! "This clock was never in any store, ever! A friend of mine made this clock; only two exist in the world. And the one that isn't here is in police custody!"

"I-impossible!" Miss May exclaimed. "Everything is sold in stores!"

"Miss May, I think it's high time you went shopping for a better excuse...?" I said, taunting her. "Oh? Excuses not on sale today?"

* * *

Iris couldn't help but giggle. "Now, Feenie. You know it's not nice to pick on little girls."

"H-hey! I'll let you know she was 23 at the time! ...Not that I'm defending her," said Phoenix.

"I know, Feenie. I know. How did she respond, though?"

"That, my dear, is when April May... snapped."

* * *

Now backed into a corner, our "beautiful" Miss May screamed in utter rage and took on a different appearnce: the heart-shaped buttons on her blouse turned upside down, and her eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of the sockets. She even lost her temper and yelled at me, calling me porcupine-head and saying the clock didn't matter. "She did it! And she should die for it! DIE!"

Everyone in the courtroom was shocked! The cute, little Miss May the men fell in love with was completely gone, and in her place was this temperamental witch!

The judge asked for her to calm down, which she did, if only for a minute or so, going back to "cute girl" mode. _S-Scary..._ I thought.

"Miss May, let me ask. Tell me, how did you know the weapon was a clock?"

"Miss May" didn't answer.

"Hmm... oh dear. Does the defense have an opinion on this... behavior?"

 _Okay, this is it!_ I thought. I felt close to bringing this trial to an end. "Yes, Your Honor. Allow me to explain how I see the truth of the matter. Miss April May, you knew the weapon was a clock because you heard about it, despite never holding the clock in your hand!"

"She 'heard'...?"

"That is correct, Your Honor. There is no other way she could have known _The Thinker_ was a clock! And I can show you the proof!" It was time to play my trump card: the evidence which would cast doubt on Miss May's character once and for all!

"Well, this is interesting. Let's see it, then. Show me evidence that proves the witness had 'heard' the murder weapon was a clock."

" _ **TAKE THAT!**_ " I yelled as I presented the wiretap I found the day before.

May made that "What are you doing with that?!" face.

"I found this in Miss May's room." Now the whole court was in an uproar.

"Miss April May! You were tapping the victim, Ms. Mia Fey's phone, were you not?!"

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " Edgeworth yelled. I had almost forgotten he was there. "Your Honor, this is irrelevant!"

"I'm not entirely sure that it is. Objection overruled. It troubles me that our witness was in possession of a wiretap."

"This is outrageous! Does the defense truly claim that the witness was tapping the victim's phone?"

"Absolutely!"

"Even if that's the case (which it's not), you still have to prove one thing: did the victim ever say that the weapon was a clock on the phone? Can you prove it? I THINK NOT!"

"Oh yeah? I THINK I CAN! It's simple!"

"WHAAAAT!?"

The evidence proving that the victim said the murder weapon was a clock happened to be the conversation on Maya's phone. On the very first section, Mia told her sister that she wanted her to hold on to a certain piece of evidence: a clock shaped like _The Thinker_! That did it. April May was tapping Mia's phone.

Despite Edgeworth's objections, Miss May was trapped. The judge wanted confirmation on the matter of wiretapping.

"MISS MAY!" the judge shouted, for once displeased with the witness.

"Shut up! All of you! What gives you the right to talk to ME like that!? You... you LAWYER!"

That last outburst showed the real April May to the world: angry, arrogant, temperamental, and manipulative. "I-it's no fair! All of you g-ganging up on me like that... Oh, so I'm the bad girl, is that it? Is that it?!" With her wiretapping activities exposed, the one thing Miss May did was cry like a big baby.

* * *

"Wow. That must have been something," said Iris.

"It was," said Phoenix. "And I thought I'd won, until she said that she had an alibi: ordering ice coffee from her hotel room at the time of murder."

"Oh, my!"

"Edgeworth made it worse by saying that the wiretapping was irrelevant and that her testimony against Maya stood!"

"Oh, no. What did you do?"

"There was only one option available to me: call the hotel bellboy as a witness to corroborate her story, under one condition, as proposed by Edgeworth."

"What was the condition, Phoenix?"

"If the witness's alibi was not called into question after cross-examination, April May would not be recognized by the court as the murderer, and Maya Fey would be found guilty."

"Oh, no! What a horrible situation you've been through. Either find a single ray of hope in the bellboy's testimony or Mystic Maya would be convicted of her sister's murder!"

"As well as losing my chances of finding Mia's real killer. I had no choice but to accept. After all, Maya's freedom was at steak."

* * *

Several minutes later, the bellboy took the stand, with a heavy tea set in hand.

"I received your summons in the middle of work, sir. I'm happy to be of service." said the bellboy.

"That tea set looks rather heavy," said the judge. "So without further ado, the witness may begin his testimony."

"Very well, sir!"

 _Here it comes_ , I thought. _The moment of truth!_

"I am the head bellboy at the fine Gatewater Hotel, in business for four generations! I believe I received a call after 8:00 in the evening from our guest, Miss May. She asked for an ice coffee to be brought to her at 9:00 on the dot, sir. I brought it to her at precisely the requested time, of course. And I delivered the ice coffee to our guest, Miss May herself."

"I see," said the judge. "The defense may begin its cross-examination."

"R-right! I'm ready." If I couldn't find anything tying that woman to murder, Maya would be sent to prison.

" _I believe I received a call after 8:00 in the evening from our guest, Miss May._ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ Are you sure it was Miss May on the phone?"

"Absolutely, sir."

"H-how can you be so certain!?"

"I checked Miss May in personally, sir. Not only did I see her in all her stunning raidance, but I also heard her voice. And then I saw THEM, and I..." The bellboy suddenly blushed, but he chose to continue his story.

" _She asked for an ice coffee to be brought to her at 9:00 on the dot, sir._ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ 9:00 'on the dot,' you say?"

"Yes. I confirmed that detail several times. She was watching a program on the TV, and wished to drink after she finished, sir."

 _9:00... The time of the murder!_

" _I brought it to her at precisely the requested time, of course._ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ 'Precisely' 9:00, then?"

"Precisely, exactly, and most definitely, sir. 9:00 PM."

"How can you be so sure!?"

"Miss May was quite insistent that it be brought then. 'Oh, bellboy? Tee hee! I'd like, like, ice coffee at exactly 9:00!' Something like that, sir. Therefore, I knocked on her door at the crack of 9:00, sir."

I thought, _Why would she be so particular about the time?_

" _And I delivered the ice coffee to our guest, Miss May herself._ "

" _ **HOLD IT!**_ You are sure it was Miss April May herself?"

"Ab-SO-lutely, sir."

"'Ab-SO-lutely'...?"

"Yes, sir. As in, 'so very absolutely,' sir. It's an endearing mannerism of mine."

"How come you're so very certain!?"

"Well, when I brought the room service, sir... S-She... the guest, sir, favored me w-wtih an, uh, an ' _embrasser_ ,' sir."

" _'Embrasser_!?' Is that French for 'embrace'?"

"It's French for 'kiss,' sir. But not a French kiss, sir! More of a peck on the cheek."

"Wh-why would she have done that?"

"I believe, perhaps, she was momentarily swayed by my prim demeanor, sir. It was a moment I shall never, ever forget, sir."

 _Sounds pretty fishy to me,_ I thought. _I think our Miss May was up to something and wanted the bellboy to remember her!_

* * *

"That's what happened," said Phoenix. "That woman definitely wanted the bellboy to remember her, and he did!"

"That doesn't sound good, Feenie," said Iris. "That just made the situation look worse for Mystic Maya."

"Yes, it looked pretty hopeless... But I wasn't giving up. If I did, I'd also give up the reason I became a lawyer in the first place: to help people!"

* * *

Before the bellboy left, I asked him and the court to wait. I couldn't let him go yet.

"One last question... let me ask one last question!" I begged.

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " Edgeworth exclaimed. "Your Honor, I must object. This charade of justice has gone on long enough!"

 _So says the man who deliberately withheld information from the court!_

"Now, now, Mr. Edgeworth. Alright, Mr. Wright. I'll give you one more question, that's all."

This was it: my last chance. I had been backed into a corner. "T-Tell me about check-in! Tell me about when you checked in Miss May."

"Oh, alright. Very well, sir," said the bellboy. "My first thought was that she was a beautiful person. She's just my type of girl, so it was a disappointment, really."

"I see..." Then I noticed something wrong. "Excuse me... what exactly was a 'disappointment?'"

"Well, I am not without charm, sir, but even I'd have little chance with her lover there."

 _...! What did he say!?_

I slammed the bench and asked the bellboy what he said.

"Ah! Oh... er... rather, quite!"

"Bellboy! Tell us the truth now... Did Miss May check in **with another person?!** "

" _ **OBJECTION!**_ " Edgeworth yelled. "I object! That was... objectionable!" Judging by his reaction, I've finally found the flaw in his case.

"Objection overruled," the judge declared. "The witness will answer the question."

The bellboy was blushing and sweating at the same time.

"Why did you not mention this in your testimony!?"

"W-well, sir, you er... didn't ask!"

"That's the sort of thing you're normally supposed to mention!"

"Ah, yes, quite. Indeed... It was the, er, good barrister there, Mr. Edgeworth, who..."

 _E-Edgeworth...!_

"He asked me not to mention it if I wasn't specifically asked, sir."

With that, Edgeworth flinched, looking like he'd been hit in the stomach. I had done it! Maya was safe... for now.

* * *

"I-I don't believe it! Mr. Edgeworth withheld such an important fact just so he could win!?" Iris yelled.

"Yes..." said Phoenix. "But it's kind of ironic, don't you think?"

"That Mr. Edgeworth wanted the bellboy to be called to confirm Miss May's alibi and have Maya convictied, only for the former to be true and the latter not happening?"

"Yes. By letting me call the bellboy to the stand, Edgeworth unknowingly blew a hole in his own case. Oh, how I loved to see him squirm."

* * *

"Miss April May checked into a twin room... with a man. Correct?"

"Yes, sir," the bellboy confirmed.

"Then, when you brought them room service, you didn't see that man in the room...?"

"That's right, sir."

"Hmm..."

"Your Honor! We have just learned of another person involved who may have been the murderer! In this new light, I hold that it's impossible to judge the defendant. You agree, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Who?! Who is this this 'other person!?'"

"Simple, it was the man who checked in with Miss May!" Edgeworth cringed again.

"As has been previously revealed, April May was tapping the victim's phone. Yet Miss May herself has an alibi at the time of the murder. However, that does not clear the man that was with her! The bellboy saw no one else in the room at the time of the murder!"

"M-my, what a convenient little set-up... but it's too late..." said Edgeworth.

"'Too late?' I suppose you'd like it if it was too late, wouldn't you...? After all, you were the one who hid the presence of the other man from this court!"

"Oof!" Edgeworth took damage once more and was visibly angry. Just when victory was within the prosecutor's grasp, his trump card gave a slip of the tounge which delayed another win for his precious record. "Upstart... amateur...! Th-these accusations are... ludicrous...!"

With this new information, the judge agreed to prolong the trial for another day, asking both me and Edgeworth to investigate the matter fully and adjourned the court.

* * *

"Oh, thank goodness," said Iris.

"Yeah," said Phoenix. "I've learned a lot of things from the trial that day."

"Like what, Feenie?"

"Like the fact that not every witness I cross-examine is guilty of a crime, and whether or not they actually had some part to play."

"Oh. What about Mr. Edgeworth?"

"The man I faced in court that day was not the Miles Edgeworth I knew from my 4th grade year in school. The Miles who would often talk about his father, Defense Attorney Gregory Edgeworth."

"'D-d-defense attorney?!'"

"Yeah, that's right. He even wanted to become a defense attorney himself."

"W-wow... I had no idea..."

"But that all changed when his father died..."

"O-oh... I see. What happened?"

"I'll tell you more later, OK?"

"O-okay, Feenie."

* * *

In Defendant Lobby No. 1, Maya was praising me for defending her, right to the point where she called herself my "newest fan."

"So, what happens with me?" She asked. "Do I get to go home now?"

"Well, no." I said. "I don't think so. Not yet."

"Oh. I see," she said, looking sad again.

"But I got a great lead in today's trial!"

"A 'lead?'"

"That man with Miss May! He's the key!"

"Oh! I get it," she said with a thoughtful expression. It quickly turned to anger when she asked this to me: "What happened to Miss May after that, anyway?"

"I heard they arrested her. I guess she's learning her charms won't work everywhere. She's probably at the detention center now. I may have to go down there later.

"Anyway. This case is far from closed."

"Yes sir!" Maya said, pumping her fists in the air.

"I'm going to find out more about this man."

"Do you think he was the one who...?"

"Maybe so."

"Sis..."

"Don't worry, Maya. I'll find him by tomorrow. I promise."

"I'm counting on you!"

I asked for a full record of April May's testimony. I thought it would come in handy during the trial on the next day. But now that I had, I wasn't so sure. Most of her testimony was all lies... In fact, there was only one part that stood on the record. Anyway, it was time to investigate once more. Maya didn't belong in that detention center, and it was up to me to get her out of there! And to make sure of that, I had to find the real culprit!

* * *

November 19, 7:30 PM

Wright Anything Agency

"And that's the end of my second trial's first day," said Phoenix.

"Wow, that was amazing, Phoenix!" said an excited Iris. "Let's go to your apartment. Shall we?"

"We shall, Iris." Phoenix proceeded to lead her by the hand as they left the agency.

* * *

November 19, 7:55 PM

Phoenix Wright's Apartment

They went back to Phoenix's apartment and sat on his bed.

"Feenie, shall we go over the case again?"

"Like always."

* * *

Recap Time

1.) "September 7, 2016. I went to court to defend my mentor's sister Maya Fey against the cunning prosecutor and my childhood friend, Miles Edgeworth. His case went like this: Maya was at the scene of the murder. He had both evidence and a witness to try and prove she was the perpetrator of the crime in question. His first witness of the day was..."

a. Detective Gumshoe

b. April May

c. The hotel bellboy

"Detective Gumshoe."

"That's right. Gumshoe was called forth to describe the incident to the court and tell them why he and his team arrested my client."

2.) "The hard evidence Gumshoe stated was the piece of paper with the name 'Maya' on it, saying that the victim wrote her killer's name before she died. I presented the autopsy report he handed me the other day to contradict him. But Edgeworth, the dirty rat that he was, presented something to nullify the contradiction. What was it again?"

a. An updated autopsy report

b. The murder weapon

c. A new witness

"It was an 'updated autopsy report.'"

"Yes, that's it. His report said that Mia did not die immediately and lived for some time. He used this report to make it look like she had the time to write Maya's name."

3.) "The next witness, April May, took the stand and accused Maya of the murder, like I thought she would. But there was one thing that stood out in her testimony that got to me. What was it again?"

a. She didn't mention Maya's clothes.

b. She said the murder weapon was a clock.

c. She had a bad temper.

"She knew that the weapon was a clock."

"Yeah, that's right. We had a long argument about the clock, what with her making up several excuses like hearing it ring, and seeing it in a store, until she snapped."

4.) "I backed Miss May into a corner with each contradiction until finally I presented my trump card: the wiretap and Maya's cell phone with the conversation saying that _The Thinker_ was indeed a clock. But what Miss May along with Edgeworth said startled me, for the witness..."

a. Was there, but didn't kill Mia.

b. Had an alibi.

c. Did not place the wiretap.

"Had an alibi at the time of the incident."

"Correct. She was in her hotel room at the time of Mia's death or so she claimed. To determine wheter this was true or not, I asked for the hotel bellboy to take the stand."

5.) "I knew that Maya was in deep trouble now, because if I didn't find a flaw in the bellboy's testimony, she'd been wrongly convicted for own sister's murder. So, I pressed the bellboy on every statement and was unable to find the crack in Miss May's alibi, but I didn't give up yet. My last question for him was when he checked in Miss May herself. That's where he slipped up and said something that poked a huge hole in the prosecution's case: there was..."

a. A new time frame

b. An escape route

c. A man staying with Miss May.

"Another person staying with her, a man."

"Correct. There was a man who checked into the hotel with Miss May on the night of the murder. The one responsible for telling the bellboy not to divulge the other customer's existence was Edgeworth, which cemented how low he would go to get his verdict."

* * *

"With no verdict given, I had another chance to investigate," Phoenix stated. "After all, the man who checked in with April May was left unaccounted for."

"Feenie?"

"Yes, Iris?"

"What did you see in Edgeworth that day? I-I mean... some sort of emotion he's bottled up?"

"I saw that somewhere deep in that cynical shell of his, was the Edgeworth I knew from grade school. Despite the arrogant exterior he displayed, he was actually in pain."

"Pain? Like something happened to him?"

"Yeah... Let's go to bed now."

"Okay. Good night, Feenie," said Iris, kissing him goodnight.

"Good night, Iris," he said, kissing her back.

* * *

So ends the first day of Phoenix Wright's first battle against Miles Edgeworth. In the next chapter, Phoenix investigates further and uncovers a sinister blackmail scheme which dates back to the DL-6 Incident.


End file.
